Advertorial feature
[ JANUS HENDERSON ]
10 / 11
High valuations mean Bankers
Investment Trust’s Alex Crooke is
taking a selective approach when
allocating to the US
American
excess
We are taking a very
selective approach to the
US in order to capitalise on
a number of macro-level
drivers that we think make
the US an interesting market
L
ast year saw global growth
accelerate at its fastest
pace since the financial
crisis as this long-running
bull market defied expectations and
found another gear. It was a period
of synchronised global growth
reminiscent of yesteryear – a brief
boon for global stock market investors.
But with growth inevitably cooling in
2018, the challenge now is to assess
where the momentum is strongest and
which firms are going to thrive.
With a mandate to invest globally,
The Bankers Investment Trust enjoys
the privilege of buying stocks without
limitations regarding market cap or
geography. It is an enviable position,
but it also requires a broad depth of
expertise across regional markets. My
job is to tie together the knowledge of
FE TRUSTNET
r
a
s
s
Glo
y
Bull market: A financial market in which
the prices of securities are rising,
especially over a long time. The opposite
of a bear market.
Underweight: To hold a lower weighting
of an individual security, asset class,
sector, or geographical region than
a portfolio’s benchmark.
Secular trends: An economy or
market trend associated with some
characteristic or phenomenon that is
not cyclical or seasonal but exists over a
relatively long period.
Emerging market proxies: Securities
that derive performance from emerging
markets.
seven stock pickers, each with deep
regional expertise, and guide the overall
weighting and direction of the portfolio.
Right now, we think the US economy is
on a strong footing to outperform other
markets in the short- to medium-term,
but we think valuations are expensive.
Given these expensive valuations,
we are underweight US (27%)
relative to our benchmark (51%)
– the FTSE All-World Index. The
Trust might be underweight US, but
North America still makes up the
largest geographical exposure in the
portfolio, followed closely by the UK
(25.4%). Therefore, we are taking a
very selective approach to the US in
order to capitalise on a number of
macro-l evel drivers that we think
make the US an interesting market.
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