François Gazier (pictured), head of Asset Allocation and Fund Selection at Haussmann Patrimoine, has avoided the recent Turkish lira crisis triggered by US president Donald Trump’s tweet on doubling tariffs on steel and aluminium and on current “not good” relationships with Turkey.
The firm had cut exposure to emerging markets debt in local currency at the end of May, precisely because emerging currencies were on the downside facing a strengthening US dollar. However Gazier remains concerned about Trump’s ability to shake up markets in 280 characters.
“Troublemaking Trump tweets form another concern to monitor. Trade wars looming with China and other countries can reverse trends in markets. This will cause risk aversion to return in markets. I feel like current tensions are far above previous ones experienced by the US administration,” he says, speaking to InvestmentEurope.
Other risks to monitor for Gazier include the return of inflation returning and a peak in oil prices.
Haussmann Patrimoine’s head of Asset Allocation and Fund Selection also keeps aside from absolute return funds, a segment which has been marked on the credit side by the GAM scandal and the ongoing liquidation of the firm’s absolute return bond fund range.
“Absolute return as a term consists of achieving an objective of positive performance but it can be misleading. Results can move away so far from the initial quest in certain market environments, as it has been the case in 2008. A number of funds have changed their names after 2008,” highlights Gazier.
Read more about Haussmann Patrimoine’s fund selection in the forthcoming September 2018 issue of InvestmentEurope.
