'The market reaction to the Ukraine crisis seems complacent'

The market reaction to the Ukraine crisis seems complacent

Berenberg Bank's chief investment officer Stefan Keitel tells Julia Rampen why he has upped cash levels, how he aims to play emerging markets, and why it is too soon to talk of a great rotation.

What changes have you made recently in your portfolios? In the long term, we are positive on equities because there is no alternative. But for now we have increased the amount of cash we hold, from 10% last summer to 20% in November 2013. Markets performed pretty well until then. Now we are caught in a more volatile period. Liquidity is a temporary solution. We think it is the right call to keep some powder dry and wait for a better entry opportunity from the equities side. We fully agree with the macroeconomic positive stance. But in 2013, equity prices rose much more than underly...