Fund Objective

The aim of the Fund is to achieve capital growth.

View on Past Performance

In September, global markets experienced one of the most dramatic months in recent history and the FTSE All- Share Index fell by 13.2%. Major developments in the UK included Lloyds TSB's offer for HBOS, the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley, and a temporary ban on short-selling of financial stocks.The fund performed relatively weakly. An overweight in oils and an underweight in banks hurt performance. However, not owning HBOS, which fell by 61% during the month, proved positive. Other stocks that did well included HSBC, the gold producer Hochschild Mining, De La Rue and Tesco. Holdings that detracted included Xstrata, BG, Vodafone and BPWe invested in the construction and support services company Carillion after a meeting with the management. Earnings are supported by a solid order book and cost benefits from the firm's acquisition of McAlpine. We also bought the attractively valued insurers Legal & General and Prudential. We sold the support services company Serco, which has performed well, and Tesco, due to concerns over cost pressures.

Future Expectations

We anticipate that markets will experience further volatility. However, any sign that monetary policy is being loosened should boost investor sentiment.

Fund Details