Global Chief Investment Officer Didier Duret said the wealth management business, which manages 168 billion euros, became “neutral” in equities in March from an “overweight” position, and the proceeds were mainly in cash.

ABN AMRO Private Banking currently holds about 22 percent of its total portfolio in cash, while 40 percent of its assets under management are invested in equities.

“We are entering into the summer in a very turbulent environment. Investors are staying on the sidelines as they continue to witness a soft patch. If economic condition stabilize, then there could be an opportunity for us to go back into equities,” Duret said.

“That could happen during the summer time,” he said, adding he would go for stock-picking first to convince his clients and then might adopt a sectoral approach.

Duret said investing in companies having strong pricing power, which is key to maintain margins and long-term earnings growth, could prove to be an interesting strategy in the current environment that poses increasing macro-economic challenges, global competition and rising input costs.

Duret said the pricing power of companies such as Apple stood out in the IT sector.

“We are already seeing a lot of innovation in the IT industry. It will continue to modify the way we consume, the way we communicate, the way we organize ourselves and the way we produce.”

ABN-AMRO, “overweight” on the IT sector, has invested in companies including Apple, ARM Holdings, Alcatel Lucent and Capgemini.

Duret is “overweight” integrated oil companies on the grounds they are a safe-haven investment at a time when the global economy is witnessing a soft patch. ABN AMRO has invested in Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips .

“The energy sector is very promising. There has been a lot of debate on the nuclear energy and we could see a five percent gap in global energy supply following the closure of some nuclear plants.”

Duret was bearish on financials in the short term, saying it was too early to invest in banks because European sovereign debt issues would loom for several months.

He said well-capitalized financials were at an advantage, and ABN AMRO has invested in banks such as BNP Paribas, HSBC , J P. Morgan and UBS.

It also holds some insurance companies such as AXA and Allianz .

Duret said even if short-term risks had grown and the duration and depth of the soft patch was unknown, there were opportunities in the longer term as the risk of a double-dip recession was low, long-term earnings growth rates were solid and systemic risk in the euro zone was avoidable.

ABN AMRO Private Banking’s absolute return fund Neuflize Optimum, managed by its French subsidiary Neuflize Private Assets, is down 1 percent year -to-date, against a 1.8 percent increase in its internal monetary benchmark.