Mideast funds become more defensive after oil prices tumble: Reuters poll | Reuters

Mideast funds become more defensive after oil prices tumble: Reuters poll | Reuters:

Middle East funds have become more defensive after November’s oil price plunge and now expect on balance to trim their equities exposure slightly while increasing their holdings of fixed income, a monthly Reuters poll showed on Thursday.

Hit by oversupply worries, Brent oil LCOc1 tumbled to below $60 a barrel at the end of this month from around $75 at the end of October and peaks around $85 in early October.

The poll of 13 leading regional fund managers, conducted over the past week, found 15 percent now expect to raise equity allocations in the next three months and 23 percent to reduce them.