Threadneedle's Dudding: Market has got 'bond proxies' wrong

Equity investors selling down dividend plays in expectation of a tapering of US QE have misjudged some high profile stocks, according to Threadneedle's Dave Dudding.

Share prices of defensive, dividend-paying equities like utilities sold off at the end of May after the Federal Reserve hinted at a slowdown in bond purchases, with consumer staples also suffering as investors reassessed priorities. But Dudding (pictured), manager of the £2bn Threadneedle European Select fund, said many staples stocks have been misunderstood. The manager holds the likes of Nestlé and Unilever in his portfolio and said he has been buying on weakness during recent falls. "We have bought more of a lot of these companies. [The recent falls] were a great opportunity to ...