AXA's Thompson cuts financials for consumer discretionary plays

AXA Investment Manager's Julian Thompson has cut exposure to financials by more than 4% in his £224m AXA Framlington Emerging Markets fund, based on concerns over growth in Turkey and valuations in Indonesia.

The head of emerging markets, who took over the fund from former EM head William Calvert in December, has trimmed the fund’s heavy exposure to financials, from 29.3% down to 25.1%, closer to the benchmark weighting of 24.5%. Thompson says: “It is important where you buy your financials. In particular, our positions in Indonesian and Turkish financials have been reduced. “When I came in to run the fund, it had 5% in Indonesian banks and 5% in Turkish banks. Now there is around 1.5% in one, that is a big swing.” He says concerns over Turkey’s ability to sustain its economic growth h...