Himsworth boosts small and mid caps

Gartmore UK Alpha fund manager Leigh Himsworth has increased his weighting to small and mid caps on expectations of increased M&A activity.

Himsworth, the group’s head of UK equities, has boosted the £38.3m fund’s exposure to FTSE 250 and small-cap companies from 46% at the start of the year to over 65%. The FTSE 250 has been the strongest-performing area of the market in the first quarter of 2010, rising 9.8% compared to a 5.9% return from the FTSE 100. Himsworth believes increasing M&A activity indicates the economic recovery is genuine. While deals between Arriva and Deutsche Bahn, Kraft and Cadbury and Prudential and AIA have already hit the headlines – Himsworth expects increasing activity among mid-cap names such as...