Do you still live within 20 miles of where you grew up?
Surely, in these days of globalisation and mobility, this is a long shot?
Up until recently, I lived nearly 19,000 kms away.
Today, I live 430 km (270 miles) from the place I grew up.
In The Road to Somewhere, former Financial Times journalist David Goodhart finds that 60% of people in Britain still live within 20 miles of where they lived at age 14.
These people are often outside London.
The trend is similar in America.
These ‘Somewheres’, as Goodhart terms them, live away from main cities.
Over the past few decades, Somewheres have felt their jobs become more and more uncertain. Their living standards have plateaued or declined.
Once the conservative backbone of the country, they now feel their voices go unheard. In London. Washington DC. Or in Wellington.
Grassroots politics, where they once prevailed, have now given way to a centralised elite.
Enter those that Goodhart terms the ‘Anywheres’.
Anywheres are cosmopolitan. At home in London, Singapore, or Auckland. Their background and professions make them mobile. They are the high-priced corporate managers. The sharp end of finance, business, law, or academia.
Over the years, many Anywheres have gravitated to politics. To the extent today, they operate as political class in themselves.
Somewheres v. Anywheres
So, are you a Somewhere or an Anywhere?
Let me ask you a simple question.
Off the top of your head, what do you think were the 3 top-selling vehicles in New Zealand last year?
Okay, that’s a little tough.
The top 3, by a long way, were all utes. Pickups.
- The Ford Ranger
- Toyota Hilux
- Mitsubishi Triton
The Ford Ranger: 6,553 were sold in New Zealand last year. Followed by 5,586 Toyota Hilux.
Source: Ford NZ
I’ll bet if you’re a Somewhere, you either drive a ute or have some friends with one.
If you’re an Anywhere, you likely don’t.
The exact same casual survey was done in the US. The top-3 selling vehicles there are also pickups. Yet most Anywheres struggled to name anyone they knew with a ute.
In 2016, Somewheres came out in force and voted for Brexit in the UK. And to Make America Great Again in the US.
Hillary Clinton, an Anywhere by any measure, arguably lost the 2016 election by denouncing the Somewheres.
There were two kinds of Donald Trump supporters, she explained:
- Voters who feel abandoned and desperate.
- Those she called ‘racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic’ — or deplorables.
It is true: many Somewheres feel their living standards are threatened by unsustainable levels of immigration. That their Christian-rooted values are endangered by unchecked liberalism. And their very livelihoods are at risk from globalisation or demonisation of the rural sector.
I would wager Australia and New Zealand are only a few years behind these deep and jagged divisions.
Here in New Zealand, most Somewheres are quiet. They get on with life. They keep the country ticking.
But, recently, some have become fired up. Covid vaccine mandates were a step too far. So too is the denial of traditional Western values. Forced co-governance that is undemocratic. And taxes or compliance that hit them disproportionately.
Anywheres are now the establishment.
In Europe and back here in New Zealand, they are evident to me in workplaces and at the board table.
For them, Brexit threatened to destroy the cosmopolitan, mobile world they held as ideal. So too did Trump.
Here in New Zealand, a level of wealth affords the luxury of virtue signalling.
I hear Anywheres say:
- ‘It is really great we are employing this person because they bring diversity.’
- ‘What are we doing in this organization to follow the principles of the Treaty?’
- ‘How can we ensure every child learns about the damage done by colonisation?’
- ‘How can this help us meet climate goals?’
Now, the statements of many Anywheres sound good and great on the surface.
Yet, when you examine them more closely, they lead to solutions that reinforce the goodness of the Anywhere to his or her group but seldom benefit the majority. Particularly Somewheres who may face further obstacles.
The Anywhere professional may not be that productive. While the Somewhere farmer feeds a town.
An investor’s dilemma
I find myself straddling both groups.
My affinity is for Somewheres. I grew up in provincial New Zealand.
Yet I live in an inner-city harbour suburb of Auckland. Apart from a few MAGA (Make Ardern Go Way) stickers I see on parked cars, I am surrounded by Anywheres.
I work in finance. We try to grow funds from investment. Our clients are often prosperous Somewheres.
Not in this business, but in others, we see Anywheres typically managing the portfolios of Somewheres.
These Anywheres drive BMWs.
But the Somewheres have utes.
Warren Buffett had an amusing take on this sort of division:
‘Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls-Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.’
The point is that global finance — and many ‘Anywhere industries’ — are in danger of losing touch. Businesses are built on real assets and ideas.
The most useful thing I have learnt is that understanding financial ratios is the least important component in understanding a business.
Far more important is understanding their industry. Their processes. How their products work. And how that could drive future growth in the market.
Case in point was an aviation business we recently looked at. Highly innovative.
On one side was the investment case and cash-flow predictions. But, actually, the greatest part was the aircraft itself. And for that, I had the good fortune to spend some time with — and ask some pertinent questions of — a seasoned aviation engineer.
That, of course, is another story — which I covered in this urgent report: The Next 1,000%? An Opportunity We’re Watching Now.
As for Somewheres and Anywheres, the division is not clear-cut. Many of us are a bit of both.
But when it comes to investing, I find myself compelled to invest in the person with the ute.
Especially if it’s a hybrid.
Regards,
Simon Angelo
Editor, Wealth Morning
(This article is general in nature and should not be construed as any financial or investment advice. To obtain guidance for your specific situation, please seek independent financial advice.)