Mr Thomson’s fund has returned 11 per cent in the 2019 year to date, placing it among the top 25 per cent of funds in the IA Global sector in the same time period.
But the fund manager has not reacted to the brighter market conditions of late by increasing his investments into riskier areas.
He said: "We are generally investing in defensive areas and areas that can grow whatever happens with the wider economy.
"The economic data shows that there is less growth in the world, trend rates of growth around the world are being revised downwards.
"With this in mind, we are avoiding economically sensitive areas, such as commodities, banks and emerging markets.
"Instead we are looking at defensive shares, at the US market and at technology.
"There may be a period of time soon where banks and other economically sensitive areas do well, but I am not interested in short-term trades like that, and over the long-term it is shown that buying growth shares rather than just those that are economically sensitive is the best approach."
Mr Thomson regards emerging market economies as being at the mercy of global growth rates, and so views them as an unattractive investment right now.
Instead he has invested in food maker McCormack, and Match.com, which operates dating websites.
But the severe sell-off in UK equities in the wake of fears about Brexit has not tempted Mr Thomson to increase his investments in the UK market.
He said: "I can understand the logic of the view that as the UK market has fallen furthest, it is the market best prepared for a downturn, that buying the cheapest market is a way of being defensive.
"But I am not there yet in terms of buying more in the UK. We have very little exposure to the UK but one recent investment we made is in the shares of Ocado."
He said the company was "the best technology business in the UK" and should be viewed as a tech business and not as a food retailer.
"One of the largest food retailers in the US has licensed Ocado’s technology," he added.
According to Mr Thomson the equity market sell-off in the final months of 2018 had been "overdone" but was the result of investors not wanting to repeat mistakes of the past.
He said: "Going into the financial crisis in 2008, investors were very complacent, they thought it was different this time.
"I think the sell-off in December was overdone, but was the result of investors looking at the climate of higher US interest rates at the same time as weaker economic data and deciding not to be caught again."
In September 2018, Simon Edelsten, co-manager of the £117m Artemis Global Select fund, had eight per cent of the assets of the fund in cash, as he worried that a market downturn was on the way and felt that holding cash was the most prudent course.
When the December sell-off came, he began buying shares again, as he felt it was overdone. But now the fund manager is back to holding 8 per cent cash.
He said: "I am surprised how rapidly a touch of complacency has returned after the slightly panicky atmosphere last December.
"We have also seen a few of our stocks bounce vigorously, losing a little of their valuation attraction and so we have been taking profits."
He said the Global Select Unit Trust was now about 8 per cent liquid, similar to what it was last September when the manager had similar valuation concerns.
He added: "Geographically, our US investments continue to prosper and generally have invested for the future which suggests they have further growth even if economies slow.
"On the other hand our concerns for European economies increase as German exports to China stall and confidence elsewhere seems fragile."
Edward Park, deputy chief investment officer at Brooks Macdonald, is another investor who has been reducing risk.
He said the market movements since January have prompted him to sell the corporate bonds he owns, and to purchase US and UK government bonds.
Mr Park said corporate bonds in the UK were more economically sensitive and so likely to share a similar fate to equities in the event of a market downturn, whereas developed market government bonds were a diversifier.
He said: "At this stage of the cycle our primary goal with fixed interest exposure is to act as a diversifier to our equity risk assets where we still see value, particularly in our preferred equity themes of healthcare and technology.
"To that end, we have begun to buy sovereign bonds, specifically UK gilts and US treasuries."
david.thorpe@ft.com
