U.K.’s Standard Life Cuts Back on U.S. Equities

Standard Life Investments, one of the larger British fund managers, announced last week it had cut back on its U.S. equity stance, Reuters reports. The company stated the recent stock rally had made shares much more expensive. According to a recently released company outlook from Standard, "Their rise has taken the edge off the valuation argument and the economic environment is still mixed," adding that market progress may now become "more erratic." Standard Life has around 75 billion pounds ($122.7 billion) in assets and recently stated it was moving its exposure to U.S. equities to "heavy" from "very heavy". In April, while expecting a rally, the fund had shifted to "very heavy."