Fund Objective

The Fund aims to provide long-term capital growth.

View on Past Performance

The storm that shook global financial markets in September was felt hard in the UK, where banks make up a significant portion of the index.The crisis engulfing the country's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS, raised fears of contagion to the wider economy, although investors found reassurance in the government's swift facilitation of a rescue by Lloyds TSB and a massive injection of liquidity by the monetary authorities.

Future Expectations

Data on inflation and unemployment has been disappointing. However, we are optimistic of an easing in inflationary pressures given the sharp correction in commodity prices and the squeeze on consumers' disposable income.Although the outlook for earnings growth appears encouraging relative to other markets, we anticipate further earnings downgrades in the fourth quarter. Much of this news has already been factored into share prices.While market conditions are likely to remain turbulent in the short term, the indiscriminate nature of the market sell-off has left a good number of sound companies trading at attractive valuations.

Fund Details