However shortlived it turns out to be, the Halo trade is doing some heavy lifting in these confused and confusing times. Snappy acronyms can give the impression of coherence, even when it’s in short supply.
For now at least, the investment quest for companies with heavy-asset, low-obsolescence (Halo) credentials is on. The AI revolution is moving more rapidly than was recently assumed, and the business of weatherproofing portfolios at such a pace, and with the storm still very much overhead, is acutely challenging.
It might be less so, however, if Japan is given a chance to prove itself as the ultimate Halo play. It’s a market unexpectedly canonised by the current turmoil: much that once struck investors as ungodly — from the sustenance of zombie companies to resisting outsourcing — suddenly looks redeemed.