Norris shores up against end of equities rally

Ignis Argonaut's Barry Norris has moved overweight defensives for the first time in two years as he believes the cyclical rally in European equities may be over.

Over the past 24 months, the largest overweights on the £384m Argonaut European Alpha fund have been in industrials and consumer discretionary. However, in the past six weeks he has reduced these positions to the biggest underweights, with utilities and pharma taking the place of the most prominent sectors in the portfolio. “We feel defensives will fare better and offer a more secure, steady return with limited downside. I see more opportunities in the steady eddies of Europe in sectors like pharmaceuticals and utilities, which have been left behind in the past two years. “We have ...