Saved by the US: Magellan

Magellan's global portfolio manager and chairman Hamish Douglass felt there was a 25% risk that there were events which could cause a major disruption to markets.

Indeed he felt the risks were so high that there was a chance markets could crash like the great Depression of 1929.

However, he now says the risks are very low, 1%, and credits the United States Federal Reserve for saving the situation.

He says the Fed's reaction to the Bear Sterns collapse was "amazing."

"It pulled things back from the edge of the cliff," he says.

Douglass is in New Zealand with other Magellan managers this week showing its asset management skills and funds to advisers.

Magellan is a boutique manager with an ASX-listed global fund and an infrastructure fund.

Currently the company has a market capitalisation of around $150 million and $420 in funds under management.

The company, unashamedly, models its investment approach on that of Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway fame.