F&C's Tigue keeps faith with private equity

Foreign & Colonial's Jeremy Tigue is expecting equity bull run to support private equity valuations in 2010

F&C’s Jeremy Tigue is planning to increase his exposure to private equity even though the sector underperformed in 2009. The £1.9bn Foreign & Colonial investment trust manager says he knew private equity would drag last year, attributing the trust’s disappointing relative performance on these holdings. Its NAV total return was 21.3% for the year ended 31 December, compared to its benchmark and close peer group of 23.4% and 27.9% respectively. However, Tigue expects the equity bull run to support private equity valuations in 2010. He currently has around 15% in the sector which he e...