The fund delivered a return of 1.7% versus the small cap index of 4.6%. The recovery in the smaller companies market and specifically the smaller companies' index continued in August, the fund is defensively positioned and hence did not track the rally.Netstore - There has been something of a resurgence in M&A this month with a number of bids specifically in the IT services area with Netstore being no exception. This has not been a spectacularly successful investment for the fund so a cash bid at a c40% premium to the pre bid price is an excellent result. Given that the buyer is a VC backed company this is a welcome reversal of current form where debt funded bids have failed to make it to the finish line.Plexus - The steady performance of this share continues as the company has announced a number of contracts. While one is generally wary of companies that seem to produce an endless stream of newsflow, this is a company that is bringing new technology to a well established process in a conservative marketplace namely oilfield services hence perhaps a little trumpet blowing is not surprising.Micro Focus - a solid trading update prompted much positive comment from analysts and a useful uplift in the share price. This management team is garnering a reputation for both beating earnings and delivering ahead of expectations on acquisitions. They do not have excess financial services sector exposure and it appears that the basic premise that their software modernises old systems at a much lower cost than replacement is looking like a very defensive attribute in this climate.The portfolio has been pleasingly free of any real disasters this month, which I hope is not a 'swallows and Indian summers' forecast. Those stocks that have been weak have generally been very solid in the year to date but have lost momentum of late.
427.20p
