Five of the Best: Defensive plays in choppy markets

FIVE OF THE BEST

Martin Gray runs the £695m Miton Special Situations fund, which has returned 3.2% over the year to 11 November, ranking it second in the IMA Balanced Managed sector.

Over three years the fund slips down the rankings, returning 23.4% against an average 31.2%, but over five years it is back in the top quartile with a 37.9% return. Here Gray outlines five defensive strategies for today’s challenging market conditions. 1. Asian low risk assets "This would be a combination of cash and short-dated bonds. We play this theme through the Schroder Asian Bond fund which is 3% of the fund." 2. Large-cap sustainable yielders "We like funds such as Mark Barnett’s Invesco Perpetual UK Strategic Income and Nick Train’s Lindsell Train UK Equity. At the i...