Square Mile's Broomer shifts back into UK active funds after 'fighting a losing battle'

Purchasing UK equity products for first time in a year

The discretionary Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) team at Square Mile has started buying actively-managed UK equity funds for the first time in almost a year, having allocated most of its UK equity exposure to passive funds at the start of 2018.

Jason Broomer, head of investment at Square Mile Investment Consulting and Research, said last year was the first time the firm has ever allocated more than half of its UK exposure to passive vehicles, due to what he described as "increasingly irrational" market conditions. "Ultimately, Square Mile prides itself on finding active managers who outperform over the long term, but occasionally, there are periods where market conditions are not conducive to active management. We recognised 2018 might be one of those periods, hence the switch," he explained. "Looking back over my experience...