Threadneedle's Weldon rotates into defensives

Threadneedle's Cormac Weldon has rotated out of cyclical names in favour of defensives in his £1.2bn American Select fund, as companies struggle against a muted outlook for the US economy.

Weldon has slashed his exposure to US energy companies, banks and industrials by roughly 13% over the past six months over concerns a continued slump in the US equity market will damage prospects for cyclical names. In turn, he has reallocated the cash to his defensive holdings, adding roughly 6% to selected information technology stocks, taking his holdings to 26%, and adding to consumer staples. Weldon’s 13% weighting to financials also excludes US banks and focuses on other financial sectors, such as credit card companies including Capital One. “We have been underweight banks ...