Lanning increases exposure to North America

Gartmore head of multi-manager ups US large-cap bias via iShares trackers due to fund manager conviction concerns

Tony Lanning is prepared to buy more actively managed US funds but admits he has concerns over manager confidence. Gartmore's multi-manager chief has upped the US weighting of his Balanced fund of funds from 10% to 12.5% and gone from 15% to almost 20% in the Active portfolio. He gained this exposure through iShares' S&P 500 tracker, because he says managers in America do not have enough conviction for him to buy their funds. "If you consider 10% to be broadly neutral, I want to take Balanced to 15% and have taken it halfway there," he says. Despite admiring 21st-century fund manage...