Investors have seen the U.K. equity gauge rise to 4.7 percent since Aug. 8th and traders are taking precautions.
Investors speculated the European Central Bank will start a bond-buying program and concern over Ukraine eased.?
At the same time, the cost of hedging against losses in the FTSE 100 is near a two-year high. When the index reached such levels in 1999, it slumped for three straight years.
Evidence of skepticism is visible in the stocks themselves, with Britain?s rally trailing the rest of Europe after hawkish dissenters emerged among Bank of England policy makers. There is also concern about future interest-rates increasing.
?U.K. equities are getting close to iconic levels, because we have been waiting since 1999 to break this level,? Alan Higgins, who helps oversee about 28.7 billion pounds ($47.2 billion) as U.K. chief investment officer of Coutts & Co. in London, said by phone. ?But the FTSE 100 is actually still lagging most markets. The U.K. is not an overweight for us.?
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