European investors opt for a defensive approach

European markets have been weak now for over two years, having lost a third of their value since the March 2000 peak. Senior portfolio manager at Dresdner RCM Global Investors, Juliet Cohn, says the magnitude of the fall we have now seen is as great as that in the previous corrections, namely those of 1973/4, 1987 and 1990. 'The principle difference however is that the correction has occurred over a much longer time period,' she says. 'It is also worth considering the massive polarisation between different sectors. The IT hardware sector has lost 80% of its March 2000 value, while...