Managers voice concerns over rise of short-termism within the fund industry

Average stock-holding time periods have shrunk to months rather than years as continued uncertainty has led to managers aggressively turning over portfolios.

The increasingly short term outlook in managing assets is worrying to some fund managers who fear the effect may peter down to the very companies in which they invest. According to Financial Express Analytics, there are 49 funds in the unit trust/Oeic universe that have made extensive changes to their top 10 holdings over the past year, and another 49 who have made similar shifts over six months. In many cases the largest positions in these portfolios have seen a 100% change. Not one of these was an index-tracking fund. A further 241 funds, across the entire range of IMA sectors, h...