Under the bonnet of Morningstar's new real return portfolios

Morningstar's Edward Fane is taking a conservative and contrarian stance on the group's new real return portfolios, and is prepared to use cash tactically in times of market weakness.

Outlining his investment strategy for the new portfolios launched this week, Fane (pictured) said he is focusing on contrarian investing, and is not afraid to move to cash where he perceives a lack of opportunities in the marketplace. "We do not want to hold overvalued assets, and so if there is nothing on offer we will retreat into cash - we won't just rely on diversification," he said. Fane expects this strategy will allow the fund to invest in slower growth assets, providing investors with larger returns. He said: "Our starting point is cash, and we are only investing when there...