Shell and HSBC are favourite ideas in £2.7bn Investec fund as gains lag wider market.
US equity markets have leapt higher in early trading, hauling the FTSE 100 back into the black, on fresh hopes of a resolution to the US fiscal stand-off.
Multi-asset managers are raising cash levels and adding to government bonds as fears over the US economy spook investors.
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has warned failure to raise the debt ceiling could be far worse than the current US government shutdown.
Rathbones Unit Trust Management has selected five US equity funds that can add value at a time when many managers are struggling to outperform the S&P 500 index.
Investors fled Italian equities on Monday morning as political tensions resurfaced in Italy, while fears of a potential US government shutdown also impacted markets across Europe.