Threadneedle's Burgess cuts EMs; buys European banks

Threadneedle's CIO Mark Burgess has reduced holdings in Asian and emerging markets in expectation of inflationary pressures, adding instead to European banking stocks and Japanese equities.

Burgess says last year's best performers across sectors and stock markets have seen profit taking by investors, who are switching into the laggards in the view of better prospects. While making some portfolio adjustments, such as adding to European banks, Burgess says many of the fundamentals that were in place last year are still in place. "We have retained exposure to many of our strong companies with decent growth prospects and sound finances," he adds. Burgess has also top-sliced Asian and other emerging market holdings in light of the inflation issue across the region. Althoug...