Alec Cutler: A question of 'balanced'

The ‘balanced fund' moniker has become so common it has all but lost its meaning. Are these funds balancing stocks and bonds? Income and growth? Momentum and value? Or something else. To us, the answer is simple - at Orbis, in our Global Balanced fund, we are trying to balance risk and return. Operating with a moderate risk profile, our goal is to provide the best possible return we can, in the most efficient way possible, in any market environment. Before we go any further, though, it is worth defining what we mean by ‘risk'. When normal people ask whether an investment is ‘risky', a...