The Fund fell 0.3% in September 2024 which gives a return year-to-date of 8.6%. Since launch (12 July 2017) the Fund has returned 45.6% (net of fees and costs), which compares with 40.0% from the Investment Association (IA) Flexible Sector which is a comparator benchmark.

The Fund is ranked in the 1st quartile over 5 years, 2nd quartile over 3 years and 3rd quartile over 1 year out of all 622 funds in the four IA Mixed Asset Sectors (Flexible, 0-35% Shares, 20-60% Shares & 40-85% Shares).

World equities rose in September in local price terms but the strength of Sterling meant that, in Sterling terms, World equities fell by 0.2%. US Equities rose 2.1% in USD terms, while UK Equities fell 1.3% due to concerns about slow UK interest rate cuts and downwards market pressure coming from retail investors positioning themselves ahead of expected CGT rises in the October Budget.

There has been a mixed bag in terms of Sector rotation in recent months. Energy has performed poorly all year, while Utilities and Financials have generally continued to outperform. Technology has not yet made a strong recovery after the steep underperformance in July. Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services have both done better than in previous months having previously underperformed. The recovery in Consumer Staples and Healthcare has faded.

There has been little change to the Fund’s Asset Allocation in recent months despite plenty of distracting news (August rate cut in the UK, new UK Government, the recent 50 bps rate cut by the US Fed, upcoming US Presidential election, Middle East tensions, July/August market volatility etc). The Asset Allocation target remains at around 85% Equities and 15% Gold.

Global Equity markets have recovered from the volatility / correction in July/August and reached new highs in price terms (although for UK-based investors Equity markets have not fully recovered due to offsetting Sterling strength). The higher levels of Equity markets have renewed the Equity valuation concerns of earlier in the year. Bond markets are also in an uptrend after going sideways over the last year and after the weakness since the inflation surge starting in 2020. Gold remains in an uptrend and is a useful hedge against rich Equity valuations and geopolitical risk.

The Equity market setback in July/August and the significant underperformance of Technology has resulted in a more mixed pattern of Sector performance. Technology has stabilised in relative terms but is not yet back into a clear outperformance trend, whereas other Growth Sectors such as Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary are outperforming. More defensive Sectors such as Consumer Staples and Healthcare recovered for a while but have fallen back. Financials and Utilities look firm with continued good momentum. The Fund’s overweights are in Consumer Discretionary and Utilities, whilst Healthcare has been reduced until a clearer pattern emerges.