Long US Treasuries position delivers for Woolnough in flight to quality

M&G's Richard Woolnough has initiated a number of derivative positions in sovereign bond markets to try and profit from the volatility caused by recent eurozone pressures.

Woolnough – manager of M&G’s £3.99bn Corporate Bond, £2.48bn Strategic Corporate Bond and £2.1bn Optimal Income funds – added a long futures position in US Treasuries across the portfolios last month and built up exposure as the eurozone crisis deteriorated during May. The manager also reintroduced a short on gilt futures, following the hung parliament and subsequent establishment of a coalition Government. While Woolnough’s US position prospered during the flight to ‘safe haven’ assets during the eurozone crisis, gilts were also beneficiaries of the strong investor sell-off in risk a...