Ewing upbeat over prospects for US recovery

He added new hires would be the final stage of that pick-up.

"We're starting to see that with temporary employment leading indicators suggesting already there's a recovery there, and that tends to come before permanent staff pick-up."

The manager said he expected a slightly better recovery than many commentators had been suggesting, which would underpin an excellent opportunity for corporate America to outperform globally.

"Of course, 40 per cent of S&P 500 profits are derived from overseas operations, and indeed many of these companies are the leaders globally in what they do," he said.

"We've a cross - we have a mix between global winners and domestic recovery plays in the portfolio, so as a result there's some growth, there's some cyclicality, but there's also some consistency in terms of the types of sectors and industries that we're involved in."

Mr Ewing said, in the short term, he would like to see Germany come to the rescue of Greece's floundering economy and witness the EU willing to support Spain, removing that as a near-term concern.

He also expressed concerns over US president Barack Obama's recent tone.

"After meeting five heads of the top banks in America on one day where he was suggesting he's going to work with them, the next day he came out and frankly bashed them very hard in a way the market wasn't expecting," he said.

Mr Ewing said while some reform was necessary, it was vital future lending by the banks should not be "cut off at the knees by spurious reforms" that were politically, not practically, motivated.

In terms of the housing market, Mr Ewing said structurally things were "in a bit of a mess". He said there were early signs of life in the bottom end of the housing market, with prices finally levelling off.

That said, Mr Ewing pointed out the US was only in the first year of recovery from what had been a very deep, sharp recession, and it would take years for the country to get firmly back on its feet.

"However," he added, "corporate balance sheets in America are stronger than they've ever been - without the financial sector.

"What that means is companies can return spare capital back to shareholders, increase dividends and use that cash flow for future investments and research.

"So we're fairly optimistic. There's a global recovery taking place, and corporate US can participate fully in that."