Merrill Lynch

Managers are setting up portfolios for a pull-back in equity markets, looking at put options and moving more defensive as several indicators post sell signals.

Investor confidence in the outlook for China's economy has surged to a three-year high, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for November.

The inability of US funds to outperform the S&P 500 has been a long-standing concern for fund selectors, but performance figures for the term of Barack Obama's presidency paint a particularly bleak picture.

EASTERN EUROPE

Despite negative press, structured products still form part of many wealth manager portfolios. Joanna Faith looks into their appeal.

BlackRock's Continental European Income fund was launched in May last year at a time when Europe was the last place many investors wanted to be, but this was part of the appeal, according to fund manager Alice Gaskell.

BIG INTERVIEW

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's latest 'equity hitchhiker's guide to the global galaxy' has outlined a range of prospective trades for investors in the coming months.

SPECIAL REPORT

Gareth Powell, fund manager - healthcare at Polar Capital, analyses the impact of the Affordable Care Act.