R&M's Hanbury adds 'distressed' miners to UK Income fund

River & Mercantile's Dan Hanbury has been upping exposure to stocks from the "distressed" mining sector in his £257m UK Income portfolio, in the belief they offer "compelling" value following a further slump in commodity prices.

The fund manager (pictured) has been selling bond proxies such as tobacco and utilities, as well as UK domestic stocks, since the start of the year in order to boost his mining position, adding to BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto at a time when shares have dipped to five-year lows. "You could argue we have been a bit early, as the last month has been dire for miners," Hanbury said.  "But we are happy to look through the cycle because these companies have mines at the lower end of the cost curve – the competition eventually will have to come off first.  "We are happy to take a long-term v...