S&W's Burns: Why hedge fund exposure could be key in an increasingly frothy market

With many asset classes overvalued and volatility increasing, James Burns, head of multi-manager at Smith and Williamson, explains why he has turned to a global macro hedge fund for portfolio protection

There is probably no other endeavour where success breeds concern as it does in investment management. Having seen various markets around the world hit all-time or multi-decade highs in recent weeks, the question of portfolio protection in the event of any meaningful pullback has become ever more important.  This has been exacerbated by the fact the fixed income space, which would normally be viewed as safe haven, has been distorted by quantitative easing and offers equally uncertain outcomes.  At the same time, discounts across the investment companies sector have narrowed to around ...