M&G

M&G's Graham French has been selling down his exposure to commodities after falling prices and a ‘poorly managed' sector hit the performance of his Global Basics fund last year.

EQUITIES

M&G has hired Matthew Cable as deputy manager on its £370m Smaller Companies fund following a tough spell which has seen it drop down the rankings.

The board of the New Star investment trust - now run by John Duffield's Brompton Asset Management - has predicted a pull-back in markets following the recent run higher.

Jim Leaviss, head of retail fixed income at M&G, said the UK is facing the prospect of a US-style fiscal cliff within the next five years.

Former Baillie Gifford European small-cap manager David Walton has joined Hargreave Hale to assist Giles Hargreave across his Marlborough small-cap unit trusts and the firm's VCT products.

Architas CIO Caspar Rock has increased his funds' weightings to equities - particularly Japan - in the expectation the momentum behind the recent move into risk assets will continue.

Schroders edged back into the top ten asset managers by fund sales in Q4 as investors showed renewed interest equities, the latest Pridham Report has revealed.

In the latest Big Debate, the manager of one of the largest funds in the sector will discuss Global Convertibles.

Jupiter's Merlin multi-manager team have shifted their UK equity allocation within the £1.7bn Merlin Growth portfolio in order to gain exposure to active managers looking across the FTSE 350 spectrum.