US funds hold global portfolio steady in September

[NEW YORK] US fund managers made no significant changes to their model global portfolio this month, a Reuters poll found, as the world economic outlook remains gloomy and markets await a possible rate hike by the Federal Reserve in December.

Having raised stock allocations for three consecutive months US fund managers trimmed their recommendations for equities in September.

The survey of 13 fund managers, conducted Sept 15-30, showed recommended equity allocations were cut to 52.2 per cent from 52.4 per cent and bonds exposure was increased slightly to 35.8 per cent from 35.7 per cent.

Recommendations for non-traditional instruments, such as derivatives and commodities, were raised to 6.1 per cent from 5.7 per cent in August. Bets in favour of alternative assets are up from just 3.8 per cent at the start of the year.

Gold prices have risen around 25 per cent in 2016, one reason why investors have more than doubled their allocations for alternative instruments.

Within equities, a regional breakdown showed allocations to North American stocks were steady in September at 64.4 per cent while eurozone equity allocations were up to 14.0 per cent from 13.8 per cent the previous month.

Better-than-expected US data released on Thursday, including economic growth and business investment has made a rate hike this year a real possibility.

REUTERS