Atherton steers away from banks as value rally buoys Man GLG JCA

Fund adds to autos and more domestically-focused industries

Manager of Man GLG Japan CoreAlpha Jeff Atherton has slashed the £1.2bn fund’s longstanding overweight to the banking sector since taking charge in December, and reallocated capital in favour of the automotive sector and more domestically focused industries.

Atherton, who took up management upon the retirement of Stephen Harker and Neil Edwards, has been taking profits on longstanding positions in the first months of his tenure, with the value rally of recent months offering a strong exit point for "punchy positions" the fund held at the start of 2021. Speaking to Investment Week, Atherton said the "timing of the transition" was "very favourable", with the value rally beginning at the start of the year helping to deliver the strategy's "best ever" first quarter against its TOPIX benchmark.  "When I took over I was conscious that some of t...