Neptune's Wintle moves overweight energy in US Opps

Neptune's head of US equities Felix Wintle has boosted the energy position in his £667m US Opportunities fund from underweight to overweight since the end of last year.

The manager says he shifted the energy position from underweight to neutral by the end of Q4, and has now moved it into overweight based on strong oil price moves and robust demand for the commodity.

He says: "Oil prices are now pricing at Brent, which is at an all time high ratio to West Texas Intermediate, and oil companies are benefitting from this."

He adds the recent political unrest in the Middle East has also spurred on the oil price, although energy has been the standout sector compared to the S&P 500 in Q4, performance Wintle believes will continue. Energy gained 16.1% in 2010, compared with 11% for the S&P 500.

"We remained overweight in technology - it is an important part of our portfolio and we see lots of growth within tech," said Wintle. "Our tech manager delivered the most return out of all our holdings in 2010."

The manager is also bullish on materials, specifically agricultural stocks, he adds.