OMAM's Nickols reshapes UK Select for ‘market bounce back'

Dan Nickols, Old Mutual Asset Managers' (OMAM) top performing small-cap manager, has reshaped his £468m UK Select Smaller Companies fund to gain greater exposure high quality cyclical firms.

Nickols (pictured) has implemented a 10% position to a basket of cyclical value stocks, in anticipation share prices are set to rise sharply. His holdings in the sector include Volex, TT Group and AZ Electronic Materials. When risk aversion strikes in falling markets, a number of high quality cyclical businesses’ share prices hold up firmly, as investors sell out of the cheaper component of the Hoare Govett Smaller Companies index, he added. “I increased exposure to the tactical portion of the portfolio at the start of the year, boosting exposure to cyclical stocks, to shield against ...