Fund Objective

To provide long-term capital growth.

View on Past Performance

The FTSE All Share Index gained ground during September,as did global equity markets.The US Federal Reserve's decision to reduce interest rates by 50 basis points gave investor sentiment a significant boost.At the sector level,performance relative to the FTSE All Share was hampered by low exposure to minig stocks,which outperformed the index by a substantial margin.Concerns over an impending slowdown in the housing market triggered profit taking on building insulation suppliers Kingspan and SIG,while housebuilders Morgan Sindall and Telford Homes alsdo fell sharply.However,social housing maintenance specialist Connaught bucked the trend on the acquisition of leading health and safety compliance services group National Britannia.In the support services sectors,recruitment companies Hays and SThree weakened on concerns over a slowdown in overseas earnings,although the former had posted full-years results.

Future Expectations

Taking a longer-term view,the secular growth prospects for companies offering solutions to the problems of sustainable development remain very encouraging.However,equity markets are likely to see continuining volatility over the coming months until the broader economic impact of the credit squeeze becomes clearer.

Fund Details