August was another erratic month for US equities. The S&P 600 index was up 4.18%, in local currency terms. Consumer confidence rose by more than expected in August as investors gained belief in the resilience of the US economy. This was following secondquarter growth figures being revised sharply up on the back of strong exports.We intend to decrease the Fund's exposure to energy stocks, concentrating instead on more domestically orientated companies.The Fund was significantly behind the index in August. This was primarily driven by our non-index holdings in T3 Energy, Shaw Group and Massey Energy. Stock selection within the industrial cyclicals sector was one of the larger contributors to underperformance.