Gilt and gold funds surge in risk-off August

Safe haven funds reward investors

Gilts and gold were the stand-out performers in August as a swathe of macro and geo-political fears saw investors continue to tilt portfolios towards safer assets, according to FE data.

Rising trade tensions, fears of an impending US recession and continued Brexit uncertainty have weighed on sentiment during the past month or so. The worries have caused a number of global multi-asset fund managers to cut their allocations to global equities, with UBS Wealth Management announcing it had taken its portfolio to underweight equities for the first time since the 2012 eurozone crisis. A rotation into safe havens has served to push bond yields down to record low levels, with the stock of negative-yielding debt having surged past $17trn. Fears over a bond bubble intensify...