Fund Objective

The Fund's aim is to achieve capital growth.

View on Past Performance

The market fell sharply in September and smaller companies underperformed their larger counterparts. Inflation concerns have given way to worries over poor growth and the problems in the banking system.Healthcare was one of the best sectors and the fund's overweight here, together with its underweight in materials, added value. We retain a zero weighting in banks and an overweighting in industrials. Key positive stock contributors were Vacon, the AC drives manufacturer, and healthcare companies such as CareTech and Synergy.Stocks that detracted included Tecnicas Reunidas (which earlier benefited from the rising oil price; a trend now reversed). We sold oil pipeline manufacturer Wellstream, as the shares will suffer in a climate of falling oil prices, and hospital management company Rhoen Klinikum, where new acquisitions have slowed. We bought paper machinery company Andritz and insurer Topdanmark.

Future Expectations

We remain cautious on markets, but inflation is less of a concern and may already have peaked. We are more worried about the problems in financial markets along with slowing growth and rising unemployment across Europe. The fund remains defensively positioned.

Fund Details