Bearish Hepworth positions for ‘double dip'

Robin Hepworth has positioned his Ecclesiastical Higher Income fund firmly into defensive names on the expectation the UK is heading for a double dip recession.

The bearish manager of the top-performing £60m fund believes the root causes of the credit crisis remain in place, citing an overvalued housing market and an over-indebted consumer. Hepworth's prediction of a double dip has led him to take an extremely negative view on property. "We have seen property prices fall by 10-20% over the past couple of years, whereas over the last 10 years they have risen by 300%," he says. "In contrast, earnings have only risen by 50%, which indicates that the sector is overvalued and still has a long way to fall." As he is bearish on the economy, Hepwo...