Sell Tesco but stick with defensives, says Neil Woodford

Invesco's Neil Woodford has dumped his stake in supermarket giant Tesco at a time when many investors are piling in. Does the much-followed fund manager know something we don't?

Thinking of buying Tesco shares? Then it might interest you to know that Neil Woodford has sold his stake. In January, the much-followed manager of Invesco Perpetual's High Income Fund was one of many high-profile investors hit by the retailer's first profit warning for 20 years. The shares slumped by 16% in a day, after Tesco reported the worst Christmas sales for years and admitted that full year revenues would be towards the bottom of City forecasts.

According to Investment Week, along with Woodford, Psigma's Bill Mott, Newton's Tineke Frikkee, F&C's Phil Doel and even Warren Buffett have all held Tesco shares in the past six months.

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.