Fund Objective

The fund focuses on achieving above average medium to long term capital growth.

View on Past Performance

September saw an acute worsening of the credit environment and market volatility was sustained and significant. Financials have been especially hard hit in the recent market turmoil and fund performance was affected by exposure to Man Group. Mining stocks have also struggled - Lonmin and Peter Hambro Mining were both negative contributors over the month.Dominoes was the top contributor to fund performance over the month - the company has been cited before as being a prime beneficiary of the recent changes in consumer spending. The pizza company is positioned to benefit from less extravagant entertainment budgets.Likewise, Restaurant Group saw a bounce as the firm's outlets benefited from a consumers opting for the less expensive eatery. Imperial Tobacco was another positive contributor to performance. Elsewhere we sold Inchcape, Paragon and Ultra Electronics.

Future Expectations

The outlook for the markets remains volatile and economic growth is likely to be negative over the next few quarters. However, governments have recently shown their willingness to go beyond talking about the issue and take decisive, coordinated action to address the situation.Whilst some reassurance can be taken from the recent simultaneous reduction in interest rates the outlook remains uncertain but we think that the level of government action/ inaction will drive asset prices for the foreseeable future.

Fund Details