During the quarter Gartmore's overweight holdings in Marks & Spencer, Spectris, and Carphone Warehouse contributed most positively to performance. After Carphone Warehouse was introduced to the portfolio, the company's shares rose strongly on optimism about the company's US expansion plans and stated aim to target 3.5 million broadband customers in the UK over the next three years.The investments in Aviva and Yell were sold. Additions to the portfolio included BP and Royal Dutch Shell and the mining company, Kazakhmys. UBS continued to be underweight the basic materials sector which turned out to be one of the strongest performing sectors within the FTSE AllShare Index over the second quarter following its strong run in the first quarter.Martin Currie provided positive returns over the quarter. In a rising telecom sector the manager sold the position in Vodafone. The proceeds from this sale were used to further diversify the portfolio and build positions in HBOS, Alliance & Leicester and RBS. June also saw the manager add Man Group, the hedge fund operator.Man's share price had fallen on news concerning the underperformance of one of Man's hedge funds, and the manager at Martin Currie felt the lower share price did not reflect the true value of the company. During this quarter Newton and New Star Equity Income Fund have been added to the Cautious portfolio.
57.63p
