MAM's Williams goes defensive with income trust

1 July 2011 8:00 am | By Joanne Ellul

MAM Funds managing director Gervais Williams has invested just 40 per cent of his £50m diverse income trust in a defensive approach due to a gloomy economic outlook.

The trust, which launched in April, invests only in UK companies.

Williams says: “We will not put our foot on the accelerator with investment until the uncertainties in the market are sorted. If the euro falls, it will be due to politics and you cannot predict politics. We need to have time to see the effect on the UK of a euro fall. All the European banks are interconnected and I am concerned about the Greek debt problem.”

He says the UK economy is not growing and global trading volumes are down.

Williams says this cautious approach to investment extends across MAM, with portfolio manager Martin Gray also holding a high weighting in cash. Gray’s £619m special sits and £188m strategic funds have 36 per cent and 37 per cent in currencies.

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