Defence sector squeezed but mid caps offer value

The US defence sector has consistently underperformed the S&P 500 during the course of 2002, posting a -19% return for the year to 22 November. This is more than 12% worse than the performance of the S&P 500 for the same period. Head of global equities at M&G Aled Smith is overweight the sector, although he does not hold any of the large-cap companies bar United Technologies. 'Our core holding in the defence sector is L-3 Communications,' he says. 'The majority of its growth is coming from its intelligent warfare systems.' Intelligent warfare is where all elements of a force are in ...