The BBC Archive is among YouTube’s most fascinating channels. One reason why investors may find it interesting is that it serves up repeated reminders that most of the issues of today were also the issues of yesteryear.

Take Last Days on Grand Parade, a bittersweet documentary about retirees living in Eastbourne’s seafront hotels. One memorable scene features Elsie Sutherland, longtime resident of the Cumberland, listening to the business news on her “wireless”.

“In the City,” the announcer intones solemnly, “fears of growing industrial unrest and forecasts that interest rates will soon have to rise again sent share prices sharply lower. The 100 Share Index was down 43.3, at 1,964.5.”

As the bleak pronouncements pile up, Mrs Sutherland slowly shakes her head and switches off the radio. “I’ve lost a lot of money,” she declares. “Oh, dear, dear. I’ll be bankrupt.”¹

Three elements of the clip might be strikingly familiar to a present-day audience. The first is the maelstrom of negative dynamics – strikes, rates, inflation, the threat of recession and so on. The second is the battering of UK-listed equities. The third is the woefully short-termist response to turmoil.

Last Days on Grand Parade was originally screened in 1988. Sure enough, markets were not in the greatest of health at the time. The previous year’s Black Monday crash was still painfully fresh in investors’ collective memory, and the road to recovery was proving lengthy and uncomfortable.

Against a challenging global backdrop, the outlook in the UK did not start to improve materially until 1989. But the point, of course, is that it did improve.

Growth, value and smaller companies

From the lowly 1,964.5 that so upset Mrs Sutherland, the FTSE 100 – the aforementioned “100 Share Index” – was soon back above 2,000. It was closing in on 4,000 by the mid-’90s. Today, despite the volatility and uncertainty of our own era, it exceeds 10,000.

This tells us there is almost always merit in adopting a long-term view. Both in the UK and elsewhere, markets are bound to experience ups and downs – some of them precipitous – but the overwhelming likelihood is that the former will prevail in the final reckoning.

Alongside this basic lesson, it is also worth remembering the importance of seeking both growth and value. It might be helpful at this juncture to briefly recap what each entails – and, crucially, to explain how they can overlap.

Pure growth investing focuses on rapidly expanding companies. These often trade on higher earnings multiples, reflecting the purported promise of continued success.

With the US’s technology titans emerging as poster children, large growth stocks generally did well for the better part of two decades, A low-inflation, low-rate environment played into their hands. But many have underperformed of late, as a result of which value’s appeal is once again earning recognition.

Value investing centres on underpriced businesses. Ideally, their lower earnings multiples will be re-rated when the broader market realises the scope for growth over time.

In other words, this ethos requires us to look ahead. It is a case of identifying businesses that are underappreciated now but which could deliver attractive returns far into the future. Investors seeking the poster children of this sphere may find the UK a happy hunting ground, with smaller companies in particular deserving attention.

Process and pragmatism

As specialists in UK smaller companies, we currently see opportunities across a number of sectors. These include financials, infrastructure, defence and energy.

Why does the wider investment community not share this optimism? Why do we perceive things differently? It is in no way a matter of our funds practising contrarianism for the sheer sake of it.

First, as active managers, we believe in in-depth research and direct engagement. Both can be key to assessing the pros and cons of small-cap, micro-cap and nano-cap businesses, which routinely escape the notice of most investment analysts.

Second – and this brings us back to where we began – we try to avoid the pitfalls of short-termism. This means not succumbing to recency bias, not mistaking today’s headlines for tomorrow’s possibilities and not extrapolating the events of a day, a month or even a year to infer that the UK market has nothing whatsoever to offer.

It is instead more sensible – and likely more productive – to take account of the bigger picture. Allowing for the usual caveats, draw comfort from the full sweep of investment history. Dig deeper and strive for informed decisions rather than knee-jerk reactions. Combine process with pragmatism.

It would be nice to think Elsie Sutherland – or at least the people responsible for her finances – somehow settled on a similar approach. Last Days on Grand Parade provides no clues in this regard, but a spot of Googling reveals she was 80 at the time of filming and eventually lived to the ripe old age of 103.

By then, in spite of her misgivings, the FTSE 100 had soared above the 6,000 mark. What better advert for a long-term mindset?

Eustace Santa Barbara is co-manager of the IFSL Marlborough Special Situations, UK Micro-Cap Growth, Nano-Cap Growth and Multi-Cap Growth Funds.

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¹ See, for example, YouTube: ‘1988: Last Days on Grand Parade’, March 2026 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgpK5YxqmDo

Explore related Marlborough funds

‍Special Situations

‍UK Micro-Cap Growth  

‍Nano-Cap Growth

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This article is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as personal financial advice to invest in any fund or product. These are the investment manager’s views at the time of writing and should not be construed as investment advice. The opinions expressed are correct at time of writing and may be subject to change. Capital is at risk. The value and income from investments can go down as well as up and are not guaranteed. An investor may get back significantly less than they invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future performance and should not be the sole factor considered when selecting funds.

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