After taking advantage of a bull run in Russian equities last year, managing director Gavin Haynes said the increasing risks surrounding the country had begun to limit the attractiveness of the investments Whitechurch held.
He sold holdings in both the JP Morgan Russian Securities trust and Robin Geffen’s Neptune Russia and Greater Russia fund at the end of last month.
“We felt the recovery was running out of steam. Valuations were not as cheap as when we initially invested and geopolitical events have made it seem riskier.
“Commodity prices have railed back a bit so we took some profit and we’re sitting on some cash.
“We may well continue to commit to emerging markets, we like India so we may add a bit of exposure there,” Haynes said.
He added the position had served its purpose and said: “It was a position that that worked well as a short-term tactical move last year.”
Russian equities rallied throughout 2016, and bounced back further following the election of Donald Trump in the autumn but have struggled to outperform the likes of the US markets in 2017 with Moscow’s Composite Index down 10% year on year.
