“The second half of January was a difficult period for the markets, with both equity and bond markets under pressure. At the stock level we decided to switch Fidelity European with Cazenove European on a money for money basis. Chris Rice, the manager of the latter, has developed a solid track record, with a ‘business cycle’ approach which results from a strong macro economic overlay discipline. The resulting portfolio has recently tended to be ‘value/defensive’ orientated, leading to decent out performance when markets struggle. After a strong run in the markets since last March, this move seems to make sense to us.”