UK equity exposure falls

balanced pension funds swap uk equities for cash, fixed interest products and property

Balanced pension fund exposure to UK equities has fallen to its lowest ever level, making up just over 50% of the portfolios, according to data from Russell/Mellon Caps survey. The decreased exposure is in favour of increased weightings in cash, fixed interest and property in order to protect the funds from falling equity markets. Fund performance in the third quarter this year was the worst since the fourth quarter of 1987 for balanced pooled funds with a median fall of 15.6% for the quarter. On a 12-month view, the balanced fund median was also poor, at -14.9% for the period to 30 Se...