Man GLG Japan Core Alpha moves overweight autos for first time

Taking advantage of cheap valuations

The managers of the £1.4bn Man GLG Japan CoreAlpha fund have increased their allocation to the automotive sector to overweight for the first time since launch, in an effort to take advantage of cheaper cyclical valuations.

Jeff Atherton, who co-manages the fund with Stephen Harker, Neil Edwards, and Adrian Edwards, said the team started building the fund's allocation to autos, which now stands at 12%, after Japan's surprise introduction of negative interest rates in January led foreign investors to rotate out of cyclicals into high-yielding defensive stocks. "Autos are the exact opposite of the bond proxies which were being bought up by people looking for yield amid economic uncertainty," said Atherton. "Autos are probably Japan's most successful industry and it is very rare to be able to buy such high qua...