Why Pyrford's £2.5bn absolute return fund has its lowest ever equity weighting

Fund running for over 20 years

The Pyrford Global Total Return fund has reduced its allocation to equities to 30%, the lowest in the history of the strategy, as manager Tony Cousins says the asset class is "extraordinarily expensive".

The £2.5bn fund has been running for institutional investors for over 20 years and was made available for retail investors two years ago. Pyrford is an affiliate of Bank of Montreal, which acquired F&C Asset Management in 2014 and subsequently renamed its BMO Global Asset Management. The absolute return fund aims to generate positive returns above inflation with a low level of volatility and to preserve capital over rolling 12-month periods. It invests in equities, high quality sovereign bonds and cash, and actively manages currency exposure, but avoids the use of derivatives. BMO ...