Portfolio impact from EU expansion to be minimal

The enlargement of the EU to include 10 member countries on 1 May next year will not have a big impact on European portfolios, Jamie Sanderson, head of European equities at Edinburgh Fund Managers (EFM), says. While EU enlargement is likely to affect the way the group invests its funds, Sanderson says he will be surprised if the new countries amount to more than 2%-3% of the average European portfolio on a five-year timescale. However, he believes there will be an increasing number of privatisations and IPOs in these countries as eurozone entry moves closer and investor interest...