Fund Objective

To achieve capital growth in the long term by investing in companies whose activities are considered ethical, both in terms of their primary activities as well as in the means of achieving them.

View on Past Performance

Global equity markets endured another negative month, with most equity markets recording falls in excess of 10% in local currency terms. The bulk of these falls took place in the first third of the month, as the concerns about the fragility of the banking system continued from September.Despite the US Congress passing a revised financial bailout package, shares continued to suffer severe falls in the early part of the month, with the S&P 500 and the MSCI Emerging Markets index suffering their worst week ever, falling 18% and 20% respectively. In the UK, the FTSE 100 closed below 4,000 for the first time in five years, registering the worst week since 1987.The MSCI World index lost 10.6% in sterling, total return terms. We continued to reduce risk in the portfolio, selling companies with risks to earnings and adding to more defensive names, including large caps with strong balance sheets, which have the ability to weather the current financial storm. We added to waste company Allied Waste where the business environment is becoming less competitive and prices are rising.

Fund Details