Fund Objective

The Fund aims to achieve a long-term return, in excess of the long-term return that is typically achieved from United Kingdom equity markets.

Future Expectations

For the time being, we are not minded to change our view that the markets face a challenging period. Positively, a slowing economy could provide the right conditions for lower interest rates before the end of the year. However, the cash fi nances of consumers, governments and companies are under pressure at the current time, with negative implications for corporate earnings. In this environment, we remain focused principally upon large companies with demonstrable value.The Fund features stocks which trade on low valuations compared with the rest of the market and offer earnings visibility, dividend yield and balance sheet attractions, examples being AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, BP, BT Group and Vodafone. In addition, we have invested in a number of specifi c recovery opportunities, such as Daily Mail & General Trust and the engineer, GKN.Conversely, we remain wary of aggressive consumer plays and have no exposure to house-builders. The Fund remains underweight banks compared to its benchmark.

Fund Details