Neptune's Taylor halves financials on Japan Opps

Neptune's Chris Taylor has cut financials exposure in his Japan Opportunities fund by more than half in recent months on expectations bank earnings could be hampered by Government reforms.

Taylor says he cut financials weighting from 40% to 18% on the proposal by the newly-installed Japanese finance minister to implement three year debt moratorium for small and medium enterprises. Taylor has used the proceeds to top up exposure to high conviction positions, such as Toshiba and Panasonic. "On a company by company basis, large Japanese exporters are in a better position than equivalent global stocks," Taylor says. "Many Japanese stocks have twice the exposure to OECD countries than US and European competitors." Taylor remains bearish on the yen and will continue to ...