Schroders' Jones focuses on discounted stocks

US small- and mid-cap manager says broad market sell-off is not splitting low and high-quality companies

The decline in equity markets experienced in October has created compelling investment opportunities in the US small- and mid-cap sector, with stocks standing at considerable discounts to their long-term averages, according to Schroders' Jenny Jones. Jones, manager of both the US Small & Mid Cap and US Smaller Companies funds, believes the market sell-off has been broad with very little differentiation made between low and high quality companies. However, she warns that 2009 earnings forecasts remain too high across the cap scale. Jones picks out consumer discretionary and energy sect...