Bankers investment trust shifts focus from recovery plays

Henderson's Alex Crooke, manager of the £647m Bankers investment trust, has sold out of UK recovery plays as he does not expect this part of the market to deliver for a number of years.

Since the financial crisis, it has been tough to find good recovery stories among distressed businesses in the UK market, the manager said, leading a number of UK recovery funds to underperform peers. Crooke said he expects this trend to continue and has reduced his UK allocation from 100 to 70 names. He has sold out of recovery stocks such as Admiral and Aviva, which he expects to remain out of fashion for the foreseeable future as M&A activity remains scare. “Banks are not lending as much as they did pre-crisis, while M&A activity is in short supply, so I have decided to walk away f...