Fund Objective

To provide long term capital appreciation and income.

View on Past Performance

In another volatile month,European stocks gained ground during September,as did global equity markets.The FTSE Europe ex UK Index ended September up 3.2% in local currency terms,rallying on the US Federal Reserve's decision to reduce interest rates by 50 basis points.Lack of exposure to the major mining stocks,which fall outside the Fund's investment parameters,detracted from performance in September.In addition,concerns over an impending slowdown in the housing market triggered profit taking on building insulation suppliers Kingspan and SIG,with housebuilders Morgan Sindall and Telford Homes falling sharply.In the support services sectors,recruitment companies Hays and SThree were also weaker on concerns over a slowdown in overseas earnings,although the former had posted imppresive full-year results.However,we saw strong performance from holdings in the alternative energy sector such as investment trust Merrill Lynch New Energy Technology and French group EDF Energies Nouvelles.

Future Expectations

Taking a longer-term view,the secular growth prospects for companies offering solutions to the problems of sustainable development remain very encouraging.However,equity markets are likely to see continuining volatility over the coming months until the broader economic impact of the credit squeeze becomes clearer.

Fund Details