Equities

The US market has confounded some observers this year. After such strong performance in 2013, when the market rose just shy of 30%, many commentators had written the market off or at least condemned it to underperformance in 2014.

Chris Reid, manager of the Majedie UK Income fund, has been topping up his highest conviction positions and increasing the portfolio's concentration, in the expectation divergence between winners and losers will increase.

Skandia has handed £640m worth of life mandates currently run by Invesco Perpetual's Mark Barnett to Neil Woodford, in a move Hargreaves Lansdown analysts suggest may be the first of many.

POLITICAL RISK

Have markets become desensitised to geopolitical conflicts?

Spotlight on: Vietnam

Investment Week reveals the most bearish UK equity managers at a time when an increasing number are holding a significant chunk of their portfolios in cash as fears of a correction grow.

The team running J.P. Morgan Asset Management's natural resources fund has said the gold price is unlikely to surge ahead from current levels, as US monetary policy and a strengthening dollar continue to weigh on sentiment.

Terry Smith's Fundsmith Emerging Equities trust invested just 15% of its portfolio in the five weeks since listing, as the manager takes a cautious approach to his first foray into emerging market investment.

EUROPE