Portfolio Builder
Stick to the right path
Most investors follow a thematic route, with the obvious
theme of demographic changes in the East driving most
portfolios in the West, either directly or indirectly. The
problem is that those investors who claim to be thematic
more often than not wander down the equity path with the
inherent market risks that brings.
Insight Investment’s multi-asset group runs target
return funds that concentrate on identifying the right
theme and then removing this equity risk; they believe in
the theme not the asset class; they actively monitor the
fund for signs of a downturn so they can actively manage
their portfolios and protect on the downside.
As we see in Fund Selector (pages 43-46), the themes
that work yesterday may not work for tomorrow.
■ The IMA Property sector is starting to find its feet
again, with a 30.3% gain in the past year, compared to
43.2% for the FTSE 100.
■ This is a considerable gain given its poor five-year
figures of a loss of 3.5% compared to a 28.3% gain for
the FTSE 100.
■ The FTSE Real Estate Index is up 63.6% in the past
year, and was down by 31% over the past five years.
Source: Fund Research Centre on www.portfolio-adviser.com
In this section…
Fund selector
THEMATIC FUNDS 43-46
“The vast increase in infrastructure
spend associated
with the rise of the middle
classes in emerging
economies will lead to the
structural increase in demand
for resources”
Charles Stanley’s Ross Brookes
assesses the biggest, best and
newest thematic funds
Manager sentiment survey
MARKET OUTLOOK 40-41
“For the first time in exactly
three years, the [property]
sector has been given the
thumbs up by managers”
Property has staged a remarkable
comeback in a relatively short
space of time with managers far
more positive about the UK and
global property sectors
Asset allocator
INSIGHT INVESTMENT
48-50
“The way we asset allocate is
far more about what happens
if things go against us because
that is what counts” Mike
Pinggera runs target return funds
by concentrating on what happens
if investment conditions work
against him by taking out as much
market risk as possible
MARCH 2010 [www.portfolio-adviser.com] PORTFOLIO ADVISER
39
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