'We are trying to identify the stars of the future'

‘We are trying to identify the stars of the future’

Duncan Lawrie's head of research Edward Bland tells Julia Rampen how he is playing frontier markets, where to find value in property, and how the group is always looking for the next Neil Woodford.

What changes have you made to clients’ portfolios recently? Over the past year or two, we have taken the view there is little to be extracted from gilts, and we have moved more and more into alternatives. At the moment, leaving aside our low risk strategy, we have a very low exposure to conventional UK government bonds. On alternatives, we have increased exposure to infrastructure, and more recently we have gone into commercial property. We had a toe in the water last year and we have since diversified our fund selection further. Looking around, there may be opportunities in the emerg...