Fund Objective

The aim of the Fund is to provide a growing income with capital growth.

View on Past Performance

The FTSE All-Share Index fell by 13% in September, in highly volatile trading conditions. The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt declined from 4.47% to 4.44%, reflecting concern over the global financial crisis.The fund performed relatively well. The underlying funds on the equity side remain focused on a combination of high-quality franchises and reasonably priced growth stocks, principally in defensive areas of the market. Investment management was extremely difficult in September, given the extraordinary levels of volatility.

Future Expectations

We believe that stock markets will rally as investors begin to focus on interest rate cuts. Within bonds, we are moving away from gilts and into corporate bonds and high yield issues. Spreads have widened considerably and the latter areas offer greater value than government stocks.The fund should outperform if defensive growth franchises continue to prosper, and if both consumer and banking stocks continue to underperform.

Fund Details