Fund Objective

The Fund aims to achieve capital growth.

View on Past Performance

US small caps fell further larger companies in July. The decline reflected investor concern over a tightening of credit, precipitated by a further deterioration in the supply market and rising high yield bond rates.The US economy is growing at a moderate pace despite the housing slump, according to figures released by the Federal Reserve in late July. The US central bank said that growth in manufacturing and commercial property outweighed the slowdown in housing in June and July.The fund benefited from good stock selection over the month. Strongly performing holdings included the footwear supplier Crocs and, following takeover bids, the medical-equipment firm Kyphon and the copper miner AUR Resources. We subsequently sold our holding in AUR. We were underweight in the top-performing sectors in July: industrials and telecommunications.

Future Expectations

The fund remains oriented towards growth companies, which we believe will outperform during a period of decelerating economic growth. We made no changes to our overall strategy in July.We believe the fund should continue to perform well, given that the economy remains healthy, interest rates have peaked and growth companies should outperform.

Fund Details