To achieve long term capital growth through investing mainly in smaller companies, principally in the U.K. The Halifax Smaller Companies Life and Pension funds invest directly into the Halifax Smaller Companies OEIC.
The sharp rise in market volatility that started in September carried over into October, as further turmoil in the global financial system fed through into continued equity market losses. In the UK, economic news continued to point to a recession, with indicators such as retail spending and housing remaining weak. Third quarter GDP came in at -0.5%. Early in the month the Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.5% to 4.5%, in a coordinated move with other major central banks.This was followed by the announcement of a bank bailout package hat would see the Government take stakes in UK banks whilst also providing extra liquidity to the money markets. The FTSE All-Share index fell by 11.9% over the month, with mid and small cap stocks hit particularly hard. The FTSE SmallCap index fell by 20.6%. Basic materials, real estate and most industrial sectors were among the poor performers, while more defensive sectors such as healthcare and telecoms fared less badly.During recent months, the Fund remained underweight in companies with financial gearing as well as the consumer sector, preferring those with stronger balance sheets - a stance that was positive for performance once more in October.
116.40p
