Bank weighting prompts Gay to diversify financials on Value trust

Legg Mason's Mary Chris Gay has diversified the financials holdings in the $4.8bn (£3.2bn) Value trust she runs with Bill Miller after the fund's exposure to banks hit it hard last year.

Financials are the largest weighting in the portfolio at 28%, but the fund now has more exposure to a range of names including insurers, the manager says. "Our exposure is more diversified than it was in mid-2008. "We have a lot more industry exposure, but one of the things we did in the midst of the crisis in late 2008 and into early 2009, with fears of nationalisation of Citi and Bank of America is, while we sold those names, we maintained the financial exposure by buying insurers and adding to positions like State Street and Capital One. "Part of our recovery has been fuelled by...