Chris Burvill, 50, hasn't always been bearish. "But I've seen very little over the past three years to make me think otherwise", says the manager of the Gartmore Cautious Managed Fund. Firms were loaded with too much borrowing and debt-fuelled economic growth looked unsustainable to him even as far back as 2006. So he cut his exposure to equities and moved some money into gilts. It worked over the past five years, the fund is up 26% against a 3% drop for the FTSE 100.
Unlike most fund managers, Burvill doesn't have a raft of analysts at his disposal. He prefers "to manage the fund primarily on his own", says Morningstar, drawing on conversations with long-term broker and economist contacts to make his decisions. Up to 60% of the fund can be held in equities, but currently it's just 37%, reflecting his continued bearishness.
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Gartmore Cautious Managed Fund top ten holdings
| European Inv Bk 4.375% Emtn 08/07/15 | 5.8 |
| Treasury 1.875% Idx Lkd Tsy Gilt 22/11/22 | 5.0 |
| Treasury 4% Stk 7/09/2016 | 4.4 |
| European Investment Bank 5.5% 7/12/09 | 3.7 |
| Treasury 2 1/2% Index-Linked Stk 2011 | 3.6 |
| Treasury 5% Stk 2014 | 3.4 |
| BP | 3.3 |
| Royal Dutch Shell B Ord | 3.2 |
| Vodafone Group | 3.2 |
| Treasury 4.75% Stk 2015 | 3.1 |
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