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BLOG: Surviving (and investing in) the school summer holidays

Written By:
Guest Author
Posted:
28/07/2022
Updated:
28/07/2022

Guest Author:
Juliet Schooling Latter

School’s out for the summer! With six weeks of juggling childcare and work, I admit it’s daunting. As some light entertainment, I look at which funds are investing in my summer necessities.

It’s day four of the summer holidays with some 30+ more to go. Not that I’m counting… but with three tantrums racked up already (the kids not me this time) and increasing moans of “I’m bored” coming from downstairs as I desperately try to get some work done upstairs, I’ll admit the thought of the next six weeks is a little daunting.

The new ‘working from home’ flexibility post-covid is helpful when it comes to juggling childcare and the job, but the cost-of-living crisis means the children are home a little more than they might have been in the past.

So, as a fellow mum and myself desperately try to plan the remainder of the school holidays, I thought it might be fun to see which funds are keeping me sane, by investing in my summer ‘necessities’.

The funds investing in my summer holidays

First up is Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity, which has Alphabet – the owner of Google – in its top ten holdings. Without synced Google calendars and gmail, drop offs, pick-ups and locations for kids’ clubs would be in chaos. Who needs to be where, by when, and with what in their bag? Check the calendar and email it’s all in there.

This fund also owns shares in Visa and Mastercard, without which much of the rest of this article would be impossible….

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Home entertainment and holidays abroad

When the kids aren’t at clubs, it’s time for old fashioned fun in the garden. We bought a stand-up pool a couple of years ago and with the hot temperatures of late it’s already been a god send. Thames Water, a holding in M&G Strategic Corporate Bond, has supplied the necessary water.

Of course, in this day and age, online games are also a welcome distraction, especially for child number one. So, the PlayStation – supplied by Sony, a top ten holding in Baillie Gifford Japan Trust – gets well used too.

But games consoles aren’t the only investment opportunity in this space. Keywords Studios, a holding in T. Rowe Price Responsible European Smaller Companies Equity fund, provides art services, game development, and player support amongst other things to companies like NetEase, Sega, and Nintendo.

And for child number two, Disney+ is the streaming channel of choice. Walt Disney Company is a holding in ES R&M UK Recovery fund – along with Jet2 and On the Beach holiday companies which are helping many of us get a long-awaited vacation abroad.

And while I wait to enjoy some down time myself, I can relax with a KitKat in one hand (one of the brands owned by Nestle, a holding in Janus Henderson European Focus fund, and a Tanqueray gin in the other (a brand owned by CT UK Extended Alpha top ten holding Diageo).

Whatever you have planned for this summer, enjoy!

Juliet Schooling Latter is research director at FundCalibre