The New Star American Portfolio fell by 13.5%* over the three months to the end of September 2008 while the IMA North America sector lost 4.8%*. In what was an unusually difficult period for the portfolio, the holdings in LeggMason Value and HSBC American Index posted encouraging relative returns. Amongst the main detractors from performance of the portfolio over the quarter were iShares MSCI Brazil and Wyper Hippocrates.The portfolio sold Gresham US Accelerator Index and iShares Russell 3000 Growth Index and its weightings were significantly reduced in iShares MSCI Brazil and Wyper Hippocrates. New positions were opened in Delaware US Large Cap Growth, JPM Highbridge Statistical Market Neutral Hedge and Oil Services HOLDRS Trust.