Fund Objective

The Fund aims to achieve above average capital growth.

View on Past Performance

In July, stock selection made a strong contribution to returns, particularly in healthcare, financials and technology. Our zero exposure to market sensitive banks (investment banks in general) and our overweight in private banks and asset gatherers added value. Staffing stocks suffered as investors fretted about slowing growth. We trimmed our position in USG, although we remain positive on its valuation.At the sector level, we were hurt by our overweighting of basic resources and construction. Our zero weighting of paper was nevertheless helpful, as was our overweighting of healthcare and cash.We increased our positions in Fresenius, following weak performance and undue concerns about changes in US regulations, and in anticipation of good earnings. Other additions included Lanxess, which has been a very poor performer but yet the company continues to deliver and its valuation is extremely cheap; and the retailer Inditex, which is attractively priced following the unjustified deterioration of sentiment towards the Spanish consumer. Sales included Vedior and Deutsche Postbank.

Future Expectations

Although the market has sold off, opportunities to add value as a stock picker remain. While we are wary of certain stocks, we believe that the fundamentals remain good for equities once the confusion settles.

Fund Details