interactive investor: UK investors go global in July to spread risk
Investors have favoured index funds to invest in global equities due to their low fees and the clarity of returns.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at ii, said the shift was boosted by July's earnings season, where around 80% of companies beat analyst expectations, even with the «level of mega-cap technology shares», which have contributed to Nasdaq gains this year.
interactive investor cuts trading fees by 33%
He said further optimism was set to come, with Apple and Amazon set to provide trading updates later this week.
In terms of funds, only two active portfolios made the top ten list — Fundsmith Equity and Royal London Short Term Money Market — with UK investors continuing to prefer passive strategies, although the actives took the top spots on the list.
Kyle Caldwell, collectives specialist at ii, said investors have favoured index funds to invest in global equities due to their low fees and the clarity of returns.
The same global trend was registered for investment trusts, he noted, with four out of the top ten providing global exposure.
Scottish Mortgage and City of London were the most bought trusts for July, with JP Morgan Global Growth & Income climbing back into the top ten.
Caldwell highlighted the return of the Pershing Square Holdings trust in the most-bought list, which it had not been in for over two years.
He said: «The trust is managed by star investor Bill Ackman… who looks for high-quality business with strong barriers to entry. He also puts hedging strategies in place to reduce risk or take advantage of opportunities.
»A recent trade that paid off handsomely was putting hedges in place when interest rates were low in the expectation that rates would rise significantly. As we now know, this has
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