Against the tide: Multi-managers underweight record-breaking US

Last week, the S&P 500 soared past the 2,000 mark for the first time, surprising those who had expected a reversal of some of the 30% gain seen in 2013.

Global equity managers have been loath to underweight the region in light of continued strong performance which has seen the S&P climb 8% year-to-date (as of 27 August). Almost two-thirds of active managers in the IMA Global sector have 40% or more of their portfolios in US and Canadian stocks, with the majority neutral or overweight the 50% index weighting, according to FE data. Multi-managers, however, are taking a different tack: high profile buyers including Old Mutual’s John Ventre, and Schroders’ Marcus Brookes now say the US is too expensive compared with other regions. Bett...