The firm’s decision to cut back on UK equities was less based on a firm conviction on Brexit’s impact on the economy and more a reflection of the fact that “we just don’t know,” said Stammers.
Brexit surprisingly ended up being a “performance driver” for European Wealth’s portfolio, given its dollar hedge, said Stammers, which was one of the reasons the team was able to buy into UK mid-caps after the referendum.
But after making 20% on the money the wealth manager put on the table, “it’s time to take it off,” he admitted.
“We’re not in the panic camp but equally we’re not sufficiently confident enough that there aren’t going to be some problems along the way.
“When you’re dealing with other people’s money, if you don’t know then you jolly well don’t make bets with it.”
That said, he “loathes politics driving investment decisions”.
Despite Stammers’ reluctance to gamble on the near-term future of the UK, he has continued to make an aggressive push into the relatively riskier emerging markets and frontier markets.
Recently, he has been toying with the idea of adding Hermes’ Global Emerging Markets fund, run by Gary Greenberg, to the portfolio.
He has also ramped up his European exposure, particularly to Northern European markets, after holding off due to the unstable political situation.
