Troy's Lyon ups 'contrarian bet' on gold miners

Sebastian Lyon has put more money behind unloved mining equities in his £2.2bn Trojan fund, after a prolonged period of underperformance from the sector.

Lyon (pictured) has been a long-time backer of physical gold, which has climbed 13% year to date to $1774 an ounce. The disconnect between the physical commodity and gold mining equities in terms of their performance has been well flagged, but Lyon said he has been adding to miners as a contrarian bet. In a recent update for investors, the manager said exposure to the precious metal is the “cornerstone” of the portfolio. “The bullion price has been firm of late and the yellow metal remains the cornerstone of your fund,” said Lyon. “In contrast, share prices of gold mining companies...