LIVE MARKETS-Time to reassess your equity exposure, UBS wealth management say

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TIME TO REASSESS YOUR EQUITY EXPOSURE, UBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT SAY

European shares are up again on Monday, and futures indicate Wall Street too is likely to rebound from the sell-off late last week, but UBS wealth management are advising clients to be cautious around having to much exposure to stocks.

Clearly, not everyone agrees - just a couple of blogs back we had Morgan Stanley recommending investors to buy on dips - but it's good to have a market of views.

UBS Wealth Managerment's case for caution comes from market strategist Anthi Tsouvali and is partly based on earnings.

She says outside U.S. tech, U.S. companies have mostly reported earnings in line with expectations, but that was a low bar to clear, Europe has disappointed, and of course there are tariffs too.

And if we're all relying on tech again, Tsouvali reminds us that valuations are getting stretched - even broadening it out to the Nasdaq, which got a forward P/E of 28 times.

She says it's too soon to be sure if those valuations are justified - "but now is a good time to reassess equity exposure."

However, UBS WM are still recommending a neutral allocation to stocks, so they don't think you should run for the hills once you've reassessed.

(Alun John)

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