On about 14.5 times' forward earnings, the fund management sector does not look cheap, against 11-plus for the rest of the market and following large gains in their share price last year.

But if you believe that equities are heading upwards it offers a way, by careful selection, of gaining exposure to this, writes the Times´s Tempus on Friday morning.

In this respect, he highlights a note yesterday from David McCann, analyst at Numis Securities, suggesting that if you take a longer view, equities look relatively cheap by comparison with developed-market government debt or corporate debt.

Tempus favours two managers, Jupiter and Hansard Global, chiefly given that they have strong balance sheets, better margins and a specific specialisation or focus, rather than just trying to cover the waterfront. In particular, markets like the latter.

As well, Jupiter has exposure to the UK retail market which looks set to benefit from long-term demographic trends.

Regarding Hansard Global, which specialises in non-EU markets, and the Far East and Latin America in particular, he admits that the company has made itself unpopular with investors by cutting this year's dividend, and the investment looks like a long-term one.

Interestingly, he confesses to having toyed with the idea of including Man, which lost more than two thirds of its value over the past two years, as one of his recovery stocks for 2013. He adds however that: "I am not that brave. Most analysts see this as a binary bet; the company will either get its act together or the shares will fall even farther."

Lastly, he points out that some of the larger quoted fund managers are coming under pressure from shareholders to return to them excess capital that has built up on their balance sheets.

Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.

AB

Related share prices
Hansard Global (HSD) share price
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) share price
Manroy (MAN) share price