Aberdeen's Whitley favours UK companies offering global reach

Aberdeen's Jeremy Whitley is reducing exposure to domestic-focused UK companies in favour of stocks with growing global reach.

Whitley, who manages the £327.3m Dunedin Income Growth investment trust, has cut holdings such as RBS, Premier Foods, Marks & Spencer and Ladbrokes – rotating into names with considerable exposure to foreign markets, such as Rolls Royce and Pearson Group. The manager says many investors have been too focused on the UK domestic economy, and have missed out on global franchises with strong growth prospects. Whitley says British American Tobacco, which makes up 4.6% of the portfolio, now takes 65% of its revenues from emerging markets and just 6% from the UK. Vodafone has about 70% of...