By ADRIAN LOWCOCK 19/05/2010
Each month, we ask our Research Analysts to identify one asset class that they believe is likely to outperform, is highly topical or is an asset class that we believe has been overlooked by investors. Our Analysts then make their pick of our Manager of the Month, from our top-rated funds within this sector.
This month, the focus is on UK equities. In recent weeks we have seen the UK stock markets retreat from their 2010 highs. This is primarily due to concerns about the debt of certain European countries and the substantial austerity packages that are required to clear them. Despite the uncertainty that has been creeping in, we believe that there are managers able to provide stock selections skills to help investors benefit in the longer term.
Our manager of the month for May is John Wood, who runs the JO Hambro CM UK Opportunities R which invest mainly in large UK companies, but also has exposure to mid sized and smaller companies. When we meet him recently, Wood said he was buying his favoured stocks at the cheapest valuations he has ever known, and with the economic outlook still uncertain his fund could prove a shrewd choice going forward.