Woolnough reintroduces equities to M&G Optimal Income after two-year hiatus

Also moved negative duration for first time

M&G's Richard Woolnough has added a 5% equity position to the £15.5bn Optimal Income fund, its first equity weighting in nearly two years.

In the fund's Q3 review, the manager (pictured) said a number of stocks had been added to the portfolio where he thought valuations were particularly attractive, leading to the equity position rising to 5%. "The fund's equity exposure rose to around 5% in the third quarter, after we added equities to the portfolio in July for the first time in nearly two years," he said. "Names added to included Apple, Time Warner, Daimler and BMW. "Any equity exposure constitutes an ‘off-benchmark' position for the fund, and we only get involved when individual companies' equity valuations look pa...