Coombs overweights risk ahead of difficult market for defensive investors

Manager sells off high yield exposure and looks to equities amid UK recession fears

Current conditions are the toughest in years for low-risk multi-asset funds to outperform, according to Rathbones’ David Coombs, with negligible returns from cash and gilts. This has meant his Total Return portfolio is overweight risk – with 25% in equities – and the manager is predicting a tough summer for markets. Coombs joined Rathbones in 2007 after two decades at Barings, with the group launching a pair of absolute return funds – Total Return and the more aggressive Strategic Growth – in June 2009 for him to run. Benchmarks According to Coombs, the portfolios are absolute re...