Fund Objective

The investment objective of Neptune Green Planet Fund is to generate capital growth from investment predominantly in the securities of companies whose main business operations focus upon improving the environment.

View on Past Performance

The Fund's performance suffered from two distinct negative trends across global markets. Firstly, the tumble in the oil price from its high of almost $150 per barrel to under $100 undermined the economic case for alternative energy. Secondly, heightened investor risk averseness meant that the small and medium sized companies that the Fund holds were disproportionately adversely affected.However, the sharply lower prices of many companies did trigger takeover activity, as larger wellestablished firms bid for smaller specialist counterparts in sub-sectors that they were absent from. The Fund benefited from this trend as one of its holdings, Xantrex, a Canadian firm that specialises in power control devices and systems, was taken over by Schneider, a French electrical power engineering company.Otherwise, the impending expiry of US solar and wind subsidies and the rising doubts over both the scale and direction of their renewal has hit the relevant sectors hard. Elsewhere, Tanfield, a UK-based electric vehicle manufacturer, saw its share price collapse after problems were revealed at one of its operating subsidiaries.Meanwhile, the more defensive sectors such as the water utilities and recycling industries broadly held up better under the current market conditions.

Future Expectations

Over the impending months it remains likely that the Fund's holdings will continue to come under pressure from the twin negatives of a lower oil price and investor aversion to smaller and medium sized firms.That said, some relief will come from further takeover bids for some of these companies, as well as from the increased funding that the sectors are receiving from venture capital and governmental sources in anticipation of those sectors' structural growth opportunities.

Fund Details