It takes a degree of bravery to put money into European equities, and in particular European banks, at the moment. A quarter of Henderson European Focus Trust is in financials, and though John Bennett, who manages the fund, has taken some profits off the table in recent weeks in several Nordic banks, he has no qualms about maintaining his exposure to the sector.
He argues that, largely unnoticed, some of the pure retail lenders have been repairing their balance sheets and, providing they can avoid another disastrous round of over-ambitious lending, they are good investments.
Henderson European has 60 investments in all and has a strong track record, having more than doubled its net asset value over the past five years, a time that has