IFA comment: Benefiting from all of the gains with none of the gilts IFA of the Year judge reports on how relaxing attitudes to risk are paying dividends for contestants AS the FTSE 100 moves through 6,000 points, it is evident that while we still remain in unpredictable and volatile times, there has been an element of relaxation of risk from many of the contestants. There seems to be a consistent view that both government gilts and lower-risk corporate debt offer poorer value for money at this time, with the fixed-interest element of individual portfolios skewing toward the high-yield end of the curve. Equity exposure is next and is largely dependent on the contestants" views on short-term market volatility and their own beliefs and principles in portfolio planning. The main issues surrounding planning for the advice is providing a strategy that is consistent with Victor and Jean Fleming's objectives, but with an ever watchful eye on the competition. A common theme seems to be the lack of exposure to the Japanese market, with concerns over the ageing population there and the unpredictability of this market. The Eurozone has also divided opinion over whether there is an opportunity to be made short term or if there still remains far too much uncertainty. This will be a deciding factor in the overall performance of the portfolios. It is interesting to see the difference in movement within the contestants" portfolios. Is it time to be nimble and flexible, or is it better to retain a well-balanced portfolio for the duration? At the moment, it is difficult to call which is the best option, as the top two performing portfolios have taken different strategies. David Thomson's portfolio has had significantly far more movement than Graeme Robertson's. However, there is very little difference in the overall return between the two. Time will tell which strategy is going to the benefit the clients over the period of the competition. When looking at the individual portfolios there have been some key switches made that have both enhanced and impaired performance. Nicola Ellis has benefited greatly from her decision to reduce her exposure to the Standard Life Investment Global Absolute Return in November, purchasing L&G's UK Index Tracker Fund which has provided most of her positive return over the period. David Thomson took the tough decision to enter a chunk of money into the Eurozone by purchasing Framlington's European Fund, and so far it has proved to be a shrewd move. Graeme Robertson's performance has been largely down to spreading the equity exposure globally which has proven beneficial in the UK, Europe and Asia. He has been slightly hampered by the returns from the US but, looking at recent economic data, this may prove to be a sensible hold. It's a similar story for Stuart Siegel's portfolio, where the US has held back the positive returns achieved from elsewhere and a switch from M&G Global Market Bond to High Yield Corporate Bond in early December has also proven to be a winner. Russell Provan has also been rewarded with a move to high yield, switching into both Newton Global High Yield Bond and Baillie Gifford's High Yield Bond Fund. It is interesting to note that the contestants are holding very little cash. Whether this will change over the coming months depends on the market appearing to remain good value, or whether it shows signs that it is nearing the top end. In summary, there remains very little between first and last in overall return and this bodes well for the remainder of the competition. Craig Hendry is a director at Johnston Carmichael Financial Services