fund manager monthly report january 2014 - contact your st

19
1 Fund Manager Monthly Report January 2014 INVESTMENTS Aberdeen Asset Management (Asia) – Hugh Young Far East In January, the fund fell by 3.93%, underperforming the benchmark’s decline of 3.67% in sterling terms. Negative asset allocation outweighed marginally positive stock selection. In a nervous start to 2014, Asian equities retreated on the back of waning Chinese growth and the Federal Reserve’s decision to continue tapering its asset purchases. Difficulties with a mainland trust fund also rattled investors. Emerging market currencies suffered from contagion fears and accentuated the stockmarket declines. In corporate news, we met with QBE Insurance’s group CEO John Neal in Singapore and are encouraged by the company’s efforts to fix its US operations. We feel the additional provisions are sufficient, while refreshment of the board and management should bear fruit in the medium term. Canon appointed its first two independent directors, in a step forward for corporate governance in Japan. Standard Chartered announced the departure of its chief financial officer and head of consumer banking, while outlining plans to combine its wholesale and consumer units. OCBC is in exclusive talks to acquire Wing Hang Bank, which will give it a foothold in the Greater China region. The deal should improve its trade financing capabilities with access to the offshore yuan market. CIMB raised US$1 billion in a share placement to boost its capital position. In January, we topped up Standard Chartered. While short-term weakness across emerging markets could weigh on its stock price, we have taken a long-term view. The bank has a strong franchise across its geographic operations and will benefit from increased trade flows. Meanwhile, we would be unsurprised if management decided to raise more capital, given its belief that robust capital base is a competitive advantage, even though it already has a high capital ratio. Aberdeen Asset Management (Glasgow) – Jamie Cumming Ethical In January, the fund’s value declined and underperformed the benchmark. Negative stock selection and the currency impact, a result of our stock selection decisions, outweighed positive asset allocation. In asset allocation, the overweight to the Asia ex Japan region and the UK detracted from relative return. In selection terms, our holdings in the UK and Brazil cost the fund the most. In Brazil, Banco Bradesco and Petrobras were among the main detractors. The losses in Brazilian equities were compounded by the real’s depreciation and continued withdrawal of liquidity from the broader Latin America region. The sell-off in emerging markets also hit UK-listed Standard Chartered, which generates most of its revenues from the asset class.

Upload: others

Post on 26-Mar-2022

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

1

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

Fund Manager Monthly ReportJanuary 2014

I N V E S T M E N T S

Aberdeen Asset Management (Asia) – Hugh YoungFar East

In January, the fund fell by 3.93%, underperforming the benchmark’s decline of 3.67% in sterling terms. Negative asset allocation outweighed marginally positive stock selection.

In a nervous start to 2014, Asian equities retreated on the back of waning Chinese growth and the Federal Reserve’s decision to continue tapering its asset purchases. Difficulties with a mainland trust fund also rattled investors. Emerging market currencies suffered from contagion fears and accentuated the stockmarket declines. In corporate news, we met with QBE Insurance’s group CEO John Neal in Singapore and are encouraged by the company’s efforts to fix its US operations. We feel the additional provisions are sufficient, while refreshment of the board and management should bear fruit in the medium term. Canon appointed its first two independent directors, in a step forward for corporate governance in Japan. Standard Chartered announced the departure of its chief financial officer and head of consumer banking, while outlining plans to combine its wholesale and consumer units.

OCBC is in exclusive talks to acquire Wing Hang Bank, which will give it a foothold in the Greater China region. The deal should improve its trade financing capabilities with access to the offshore yuan market. CIMB raised US$1 billion in a share placement to boost its capital position. In January, we topped up Standard Chartered. While short-term weakness across emerging markets could weigh on its stock price, we have taken a long-term view. The bank has a strong franchise across its geographic operations and will benefit from increased trade flows. Meanwhile, we would be unsurprised if management decided to raise more capital, given its belief that robust capital base is a competitive advantage, even though it already has a high capital ratio.

Aberdeen Asset Management (Glasgow) – Jamie CummingEthical

In January, the fund’s value declined and underperformed the benchmark. Negative stock selection and the currency impact, a result of our stock selection decisions, outweighed positive asset allocation.

In asset allocation, the overweight to the Asia ex Japan region and the UK detracted from relative return. In selection terms, our holdings in the UK and Brazil cost the fund the most. In Brazil, Banco Bradesco and Petrobras were among the main detractors. The losses in Brazilian equities were compounded by the real’s depreciation and continued withdrawal of liquidity from the broader Latin America region. The sell-off in emerging markets also hit UK-listed Standard Chartered, which generates most of its revenues from the asset class.

2

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

Against this, stock selection in the US benefited the fund. Real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle was the top contributor to relative return, aided by healthy full-year revenue growth. Cable operator Comcast reported a 26% increase in fourth-quarter profits, thanks to an unexpected rise in television subscribers, while it raised its dividend payout by 15%. For the full year, Comcast’s share price rose by 39%, its fourth straight annual gain. Not holding Apple benefited the fund as well, as the technology company was hurt by disappointing sales during the December-quarter.

In January, we sold US food producer Kellogg because of its deteriorating fundamentals. Against this, we added to UK-listed BG Group and miner BHP Billiton.

Artemis Investment Management – Adrian Frost & Adrian GosdenUK & International Income

Negative equity market returns provided a rude awakening as the ramifications of less quantitative easing continued to pressure emerging markets and currencies. A sanguine view is that it is unrealistic for this readjustment to occur without some dislocations, but as ever precedents are thin on the ground. So the underlying theme for January was emerging markets exposure and something that companies have craved and trumpeted over recent years became a source of concern. The fact that some of these multinationals have high starting valuations was part of the problem.

Emerging markets have been a useful tailwind in recent years and have averted investor’s eyes from the stagnant picture in developed markets. In practical terms this means that the resumption in earnings growth which is eagerly anticipated (needed) in 2014 will be challenging. Unless developed markets can compensate for an emerging markets slow down, then disappointment, albeit mild, looks likely.

During the month we added to existing holdings. We sold BHP Billiton and consolidating the proceeds into Rio Tinto and Glencore Xstrata. We also reduced our position in Cisco and BAE Systems.

Artisan – Dan O’Keefe & David SamraGlobal Managed & Global Unit Trust

Trends that can’t continue forever, eventually don’t. And January was a month of reversals. Every major market around the world declined during the month, with the MSCI World Index falling 3.2%, posting the first monthly decline since August 2013. (All returns in local terms unless otherwise specified.)

The reality of continued tapering seems to be having an impact. Every major currency (except the Japanese yen) weakened against the dollar during January. Emerging markets were the hardest hit by the downdraft, where several countries (including Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and Chile) experienced stock market declines in excess of 10% in US dollar terms.

Our large cash position served as a ballast. Amongst the equities, the largest contributors to performance during January included Google. Google rose 5.4% after reporting earnings that showed strong growth in the business. They also announced the divestment of Motorola’s handset business which has been a drag on the profits.

3

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

The largest detractors from performance included Arch Capital, which fell 9.9% during the month. While there was no meaningful company-specific news during the month, many insurance companies have been impacted by the severe January weather, as well as general concern that industry pricing has peaked.

We exited our investment in AstraZeneca, which reached our estimate of intrinsic value.

As noted above, we entered into this period of market weakness with elevated cash levels. As value investors, we attempt to capitalize on these types of environments, which will hopefully provide us with opportunities to make investments at more attractive valuations than we have seen in the recent past.

AXA Framlington – Richard PeirsonAXA Framlington Managed & Balanced Managed Unit Trust

Weakness in Emerging Markets, partly related to further tapering of US QE, was largely responsible for a weak start to the year. Interest rates were increased in a number of the weaker economies to support their currencies. UK equities returned -3.1% which was in line with global equities’ -3.2% total return. Yet again larger companies underperformed in the UK with the FTSE 100 index returning -3.5% compared with the FTSE 250’s -1.65% and the FTSE SmallCap x IC +3.3%. Bonds rallied modestly after their weakness at the end of last year as investors looked to take some profits in equities and sought a safe haven.

There was no significant change in asset allocation in January. In UK equities we made a new investment in IMI and in two smaller companies SIG and Partnership Assurance. We were attracted to IMI, the global engineering business, following the appointment of a new chief executive, Mark Selway, who we know well following his success at Weir Group. SIG is a mid-cap building supplies company best known for its insulation and energy management products. We believe the demand for its products will improve but that the company also has scope to cut costs and rationalise its operations to produce faster growth. Partnership Assurance sells non-standard annuities and was a new issue last June. We consider this an attractive niche in the savings market while the shares were purchased at a discount to the original placing price of 385p, following a disappointing trading update in November. We reduced BG ahead of the recent profits downgrade for we felt that the shares did not adequately reflect some uncertainties about their assets in Australia and Brazil. In Japan we sold Nitto Denko, who make film for Korean and US tablet manufacturers, as we expect modest growth in the short term and reinvested in NTN, one of the world’s largest bearing manufacturers, where we expect much faster growth, partly due to the weakness of the yen. In Europe we sold Ziggo as we were disappointed by the terms of the offer from Liberty Media and re-invested in Telenor, the Skandinavian telecoms company which also owns significant, fast growing, emerging markets businesses.

Investment performance was mixed during January. We outperformed in UK, US and Japanese equities but underperformed in Asia ex Japan and Emerging Markets. Bonds were disappointing, while being underweight in overseas bonds, where returns were positive, was also unhelpful.

Most recent economic indicators have been supportive of reasonable growth in the developed economies in 2014. The latest profit taking in equities, therefore, looks no more than a temporary correction. The cash coming in March from Vodafone should provide plenty of support for UK equities in the short term.

4

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

AXA Framlington – George LuckraftDiversified Income & Allshare Income Unit Trust

Equity markets weakened in January as renewed weakness in most emerging market currencies caused jitters. This looks like a rerun of the setback in the summer of 2013 which was short lived. This currency weakness came on top of the rise in sterling in the second half of last year, which is now being reflected in brokers forecast.

The portfolio performed well registering a modest rise. The outperformance was driven by good rises in some of the smaller companies such as Topps Tiles, Low & Bonar, Vectura Group and iEnergizer. Weakness in BG Group which is not held was also beneficial. Strength in AstraZeneca which is also absent from the portfolio was the main detractor.

Following the setback equity markets look well supported. There is a large pipeline of IPO companies some of which will be of interest. The culmination of the Vodafone transaction will lead to some realignment of the portfolio.

Babson Capital – Zak SummerscaleInternational Corporate Bond

The International Corporate Bond Fund started the year positively as senior secured bonds performed well in an environment where equities and emerging markets came under pressure. With the robust bid for US Treasuries supporting credit markets the high yield bond market benefited from the attractive yields combined with the corporate strength of the underlying companies within the portfolio.

Following the seasonally quiet primary market activity seen in December, the new issue market significantly picked up the pace in January. Indeed, this was one of the strongest January’s seen on record in terms of new issuance. Despite some broader market volatility towards the end of the month, January saw a sustained flow of capital continue into high yield bond markets. Some of the strongest performers in the International Corporate Bond Fund in January consisted of Travelex, a London-headquartered foreign exchange company; Accuride, a North American manufacturer and supplier of commercial vehicle components; and Pinnacle, a North American agricultural services provider. The weaker performers for the month included Takko, a German fashion retailer; VTR, a Chilean provider of broadband and telephony services, and Warner Music Group, a music based contents company.

The U.S. senior secured bond market outperformed Europe in January, with global senior secured bonds providing attractive overall returns. Our expectations are that new issuance will materially broaden out to cover more M&A and general corporate activity in 2014. This will continue to offer the International Corporate Bond Fund with a diversified opportunity set of senior secured bonds at attractive yields. With corporate fundamentals in good health, we believe the Fund is well positioned to continue providing robust risk-adjusted returns to its investors.

5

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

BlackRock – Market Advantage TeamAlternative Assets

2014 started with a marked risk-off tone. After weaker than expected US labour market data, concerns about the US debt ceiling became a focus once again. Falling equity markets and rising government bond prices reversed trends seen during 2013. The US Fed voted to reduce asset purchases by a further $10bn. Their risk statement noting that “the Committee sees the risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having become more nearly balanced” did not change, however introduced more positive language on the outlook. Although European economic data showed signs of improvement, almost all developed equity markets fell, with emerging market turmoil as key contributor to low risk appetite. Broader investor concerns over slowing growth, the impact of Fed tapering, and lack of structural reforms’ progress were reinforced. Several emerging market countries raised their benchmark interest rates in an effort to stabilize currencies. The Turkish central bank aggressively raised its benchmark lending rate from 7.75% to 12%. Despite the rate moves, EM currencies and stocks remained under pressure, with the MSCI Emerging Market Index down nearly 7%. Alternatives such as commodities and property performed well during the month relative to equities, while lower-risk assets such as investment grade credit and developed government debt delivered strong positive returns.

The fund ended the month flat*, with positive contribution mainly from US corporate debt (Markit iBoxx $ Investment Grade Index +2.7%, iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index +1.4%), and Index Linked Gilts (FTA UK Index-Linked Gilt Over 5Year Index +1.8%). Emerging market assets were the main detractors from performance with S&P $ Emerging Markets Infrastructure Index down 5.9%.

BlackRock – Nigel RidgeUK Absolute Return

The positive momentum with which the year began was quickly overshadowed by a number of structural and cyclical concerns that moved risk assets quite sharply into reverse. Chinese growth once again underwhelmed while a number of emerging market countries looked to stave off currency-induced inflation concerns through dramatic rate hikes with Argentina also feeling compelled to add foreign currency controls to its peso devaluation. Developed markets were not immune either, yet US monetary policy continued to move towards normalisation and proceeded with another wind-down of QE. What remains to be seen is whether the US Fed sticks to this path for the year or is forced to recognise external factors leapfrogging unemployment and inflation as the most potent risk to the US domestic economy.

The Fund began 2014 by demonstrating its capital protection qualities by returning +0.3% (net) as equity markets started the year on a volatile note forcing the FTSE All Share to fall more than 3%. The naked short book more than offset losses in the naked long book and the Pairs also managed to add modest gains. Stock selection in the consumer services sector added positive returns on both the long and short side while Financials detracted the most from a variety of positions as a result of sentiment change rather than company specific news flow. Carphone Warehouse (consumer services) was the strongest performer after reporting revenue growth and gains in market share. A late rally at the end of the month on news that the company has entered into a partnership to operate stand-alone Samsung stores was also well received by investors. A short position in a UK Retailer was the largest detractor to performance as the shares benefited from support for the heavily invested long term growth strategy being employed. The make-up of the pair book mirrored our naked positions whereby gains on the short side outpaced losses on the long. In line with our view that investors will be less forgiving with poor company earnings, the Publishers pair added alpha as a short position in a media and education company announced a profit warning given pressures from the US budget cuts. The oil & gas pair was the largest detractor with BG Group on the long side falling due to the Egypt crisis forcing production expectations to be reset.

6

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

The net exposure was reduced to c.12% into the middle of the month given expectation of softer markets while gross exposure ended a touch lower at 123%. We retain a well-diversified and balanced portfolio that will provide liquidity and help ensure lower volatility than the broader market. Following alpha generation in the final quarter of 2013 and capital preservation in January, we remain confident on the delivery of absolute returns over the long term.

BlackRock – Luke ChappellUK & General Progressive

Performance

The UK Focus portfolio returned -2.3%* over the month, modestly outperforming the benchmark FTSE All-Share Index, which returned -3.1%.

Contributors to performance Next was the strongest contributor to performance as it raised its yearly profits outlook on the back of pre-Christmas sales that topped its own forecast pushing the shares to a record high. Strong orders from the Next Directory internet and catalogue business again helped performance. Easyjet announced strong results as the group continued to benefit from the move to allocated seating. Shire updated its earnings guidance noting it expected its earnings to be towards the upper end of forecasts, whilst Hargreaves Lansdown also outperformed.

The largest single detractor to relative performance came from the holding in BG Group as the company had to divert gas to the domestic market in Egypt causing it to break its LNG supply contracts there with profits forecast 1/3rd lower than previously expected for 2014. Standard Chartered fell as increased competition and issues in Korea impacted earnings growth whilst British American Tobacco detracted given its exposure to emerging markets.

Recent activityActivity over the period saw us opening a new positions in Berkeley Group and Capital & Counties, whilst and adding to Reed Elsevier and Johnson Matthey. We reduced the holdings in BG Group and Standard Chartered sold the position in John Wood Group.

Outlook / StrategyUS economic activity continues to recover, while European economic activity remains subdued, although the UK is stands out with its recovery in both consumer and business spending. We look for high quality franchises that are exposed to areas of growth, with high returns on capital, good cash flow characteristics and sensible capital allocation.

Edgepoint – Tye Bousada & Geoff MacDonaldGlobal Equity

We continue to search for companies that can grow regardless of macroeconomic headwinds. Strong performance globally has made finding attractive investments more difficult. Although it’s still possible to uncover businesses with good long-term growth prospects without paying full price for that growth, today we need to look much harder for these opportunities than we did a few years ago, which is more consistent with a normal operating environment.

7

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

NKT Holding A/S is one of the companies that contributed significantly to performance in January. The company manages various businesses engaged in manufacturing and supply of power cables, floor care equipment and fiber optical components. Recently the company announced its involvement in a wind farm project named Gemini to manufacture more than 200 kilometres of high voltage submarine cables. The value of the contract is worth approximately 165 million euros.

PTC Inc. also performed well. The company develops technology solutions that help companies design products, manage product information and improve product development processes for industrial equipment, automotive, electronics, aerospace, defence, retail, consumer and medical-devices industries. PTC has excellent growth opportunities as it has a large and expanding potential market, and is a leader in providing innovative and comprehensive solutions for managing product development processes.

First State Investments (UK) – Jonathan AsanteGlobal Emerging Markets

Markets fell over the month and our fund declined with them as fear around the financial health of some emerging markets grew. As long-term investors we tend to like these periods of weakness as the distinction between good and bad companies is often ignored in the stampede for the door, providing the opportunity to buy some wonderful businesses for a reasonable price.

A good example of one of these is the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) in India. HDFC is one of the global emerging market (GEM) universe’s finest financial institutions run by the kind of people that we like to back. It is obvious that the Chairman writes the letter in the annual report himself and is openly critical of the issue of corruption in the Indian bureaucracy. Although it is not what we would call cheap, we think a valuation of US$20bn for one of the highest quality financial companies in a country with over a billion people represents good long-term value. Among other purchases we added to Shoprite, a South African supermarket with the potential to grow with the continent, and Antofagasta, a well-run mining company in a sector which is very out of favour.

First State Investments (UK) – Jonathan AsanteWorldwide Opportunities

The full to over-valuation of most companies we regard as good enough quality to own in the-medium term, led us to maintain high cash balances by year end, close to 20%. This was unusual, but we were convinced that in a world where politicians recklessly set interest rates below inflation, the ability to hold cash is a necessary ingredient of running an equity portfolio because it enables the separation of the sell from the buy decision. We will set about investing the money when valuations better reflect the many risks that companies face globally.

Recently a Nigerian friend told us that they spend up to US$100 per day running a diesel generator at home – this is in a country with some of the largest gas reserves in the world! We can only imagine what might happen to the economy if power plants actually get built and electricity reaches businesses and consumers, even at a half decent cost. The low hanging fruit in some developing economies are simply so low that small improvements in policy should result in very large improvements in the economy. Indian telecommunications reform was arguably a necessary condition for private companies to develop into today’s global outsourcing sector which employs millions.

8

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

We have seen emerging markets come in and out of fashion several times in the last 20 years and when they become unpopular with investors again we will aim to buy the best quality companies listed in these markets.

Invesco Perpetual – Neil Woodford (Lead Manager)Invesco Perpetual Managed & Strategic Managed Unit Trust

United KingdomA total return over the month of -3.1% by the FTSE All-Share index reflected a pause in the mood of markets rather than a slowdown in the UK economic newsflow which was positive on the whole. There was a welcome fall in the unemployment rate to 7.1% from 7.8%. This improvement reflected the rising levels of economic activity as evidenced by the first estimate of GDP growth of 1.9% for 2013. The level of unemployment at 7.1% was significant as it edged closer to the 7% level set by the Bank of England as one of the measures that might then cause a change to the level of official interest rates. However Mark Carney reassured markets by stating that there was “no immediate need to increase interest rates”. As the UK economy started the year on a strong note, consumer confidence surged in January to its highest level since 2007 after falling for three months.

Sector performances over the month continued to reflect an expectation of economic recovery with companies related to car production and construction output doing well. In contrast, the more defensive businesses of tobacco and beverages lagged.

Company-specific news included Capita signing a five-year contract with Transport for London to operate the congestion charging, low emission zone and traffic enforcement notice processing schemes. The deal is expected to generate around £145 million in revenue for the outsourcing firm. BAE systems agreed a £100 million contract extension to continue the Typhoon Availability Service for the in-service support of the RAF’s Typhoon force.

Serco’s share price dropped by more than 10% after the company issued a stark profits warning, with revenues expected to fall due to a loss of contracts last year and fewer prospects of winning contract extensions this year. BT broadened its Cloud Compute portfolio, by announcing it will offer a new hybrid cloud solution to its clients. The service was developed alongside Cisco, Citrix and NetApp and launched across 17 countries in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

GlobalGlobal equity markets pulled back in January amid increasing emerging market turbulence. Emerging markets, and parts of Asia specifically, were the biggest laggards over the month. The sharp sell-off in emerging markets was based on concerns about an economic slowdown in China as well as more pronounced liquidity concerns related to the quality of its banks; currency slides in weak emerging economies such as Argentina and Turkey; and the scaling back of the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) asset purchase programme which was reduced by another $10bn at the end of the month. As the Fed continued to wind down its bond buying programme, interest rates were increased in Brazil, Turkey, South Africa and India to combat depreciating currencies and inflationary pressures.

Developed equity markets were the beneficiaries of this unease as the economies of the US, UK and Europe continued to turn a corner. There was a welcome fall in unemployment in the UK and Europe, reaching 7.1% and 12%, respectively, and economic sentiment indicators grew increasingly positive. The rise mainly reflected improvements in consumer and service sector sentiment. The country breakdown for Europe revealed that

9

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

the gap between sentiment in the core and the periphery remained narrow by recent historical standards. In the US, the economy continued to grow, however disappointing employment data meant that 74,000 new jobs were created in December, versus an expected figure of 196,000. It was thought that this was partly the result of adverse weather conditions, and potentially also due in part to distortions caused by the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods. Despite this, the unemployment rate dropped from 7% to 6.7%, albeit on a US labour force participation rate that is now at its lowest level since the 1970s. Rather than being the result of a weak economic environment, this was primarily due to the ongoing impact of the generation of ‘baby boomers’ dropping out of the employment market to enter retirement.

Meanwhile, the bond market began the year positively as core government bond yields were pushed down by falling inflation and lower-than-expected growth in US employment.

Fixed InterestThe bond market began the year positively as core government bond yields were pushed down by falling inflation and lower-than-expected growth in US employment. These factors more than balanced out further signs of accelerating economic growth in the major developed markets and the announcement of a second reduction in Federal Reserve (Fed) quantitative easing. Developed bond markets were also boosted by volatility in emerging bond markets which prompted a modest ‘flight to safety’.

December’s US employment report showed a gain in the key non-Farm Payrolls measure of just 74,000, down from the c.200,000 average of recent months. The data is likely to have been affected by severe winter weather. Headline inflation remains low in the US and in the UK, where it fell to the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) target of 2% for the first time in four years in December. At an annual rate of 0.7% in January, inflation in the Eurozone is low enough to have prompted speculation of further policy easing from the European Central Bank. Several emerging market central banks, by contrast, raised rates in January on concerns over rising inflation and, in some cases, in reaction to currency weakness. The impact of Fed tapering on these markets remains a concern.

While inflationary pressures appear to have softened in the major developed markets, evidence of accelerating economic growth accumulated. US GDP grew at an annualised rate of 3.7% in the final quarter of 2013 and positive data on business activity, consumer confidence and retail sales in recent weeks indicated further strength to come. Strong employment growth in the UK is driving economic recovery, with a record 280,000 jobs added in the three months to the end of November. Retail sales rose at an annual rate of 5.3% in December. Rising economic sentiment is pointing to a modest but positive recovery in the Eurozone. Industrial production was higher here in November than October at an annual rate of 3%.

The 10 year gilt yield fell 32 basis points (bps) over the month to close at 2.71%. Corresponding Bund and Treasury yields followed a similar path. With little spread widening, this set a positive tone for developed bond markets. According to data from Merrill Lynch, Gilts had a total return of 2.1% over the month while sterling investment grade corporate bonds returned 2.2%. European high yield corporate bonds underperformed, reversing the trend of recent months. They returned -0.4% in sterling terms (negatively affected by a 1.2% rise in sterling against the euro). Issuance was slightly down on January 2013 levels in both investment grade and high yield. Peripheral Eurozone government bonds continued to perform well, buoyed by demand for recent new issues. Spanish government bonds returned 1.5% (in sterling terms).

10

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

Invesco Perpetual – Neil WoodfordIncome Distribution, UK Equity & UK High Income Unit Trust

Market CommentaryA month which started on a positive note, as the UK stock market maintained its upward momentum of 2013, saw a sharp reversal as the period unfolded. UK economic news was broadly positive – with the first estimate of GDP growth for 2013 set at 1.9%, the best seen since 2007, and which then caused the IMF to raise their forecast for 2014 to 2.4%. However market sentiment was upset by some corporate profit warnings and by the declines on the currencies and stock markets of some emerging market countries. The decline of these currencies has been linked to the change in US monetary policy which is now seen as less accommodative.

Fund Strategy and OutlookThe rise in the UK stock market over the last year or so was noteworthy for its breadth. While previous rallies have been driven by a relatively small number of sectors, notably mining and banks, last year witnessed strong performances from a broad range of sectors, which is a positive sign of widespread demand for the asset class.

Over the coming year, we believe the main question relevant to the outlook for the UK stock market relates to how a market driven by quantitative easing can transition to one driven by the strength of the underlying economy. With equity valuations now at a level anticipating upgrades to earnings for 2014 and beyond, we believe that the performance of the market over the past year is unlikely to be repeated over the coming 12 months. The fund is positioned with a focus on companies which can deliver attractive cash flows, earnings and dividend growth. It therefore has the potential, we believe, to deliver an attractive positive return over the longer term.

Fund PerformanceThe fund’s value decreased by 1.9% in January, compared with the FTSE All-Share index, which fell by 3.1%.

For the second consecutive month the fund’s largest holding, AstraZeneca, had a good performance. The company predicted that revenue will rebound more quickly than most analysts expect following the acquisition of a stake, from Bristol-Myers Squibb, in a diabetes treatment business. In addition the CEO commented that it now had, at 11, double the number of potential drugs in late stage development and 27 in phase two development.

HomeServe shares did well despite announcing a fine issued by the Financial Conduct Authority. This fine was related to past regulatory issues, and was higher than the amount provisioned by the company. BT Group, which enjoyed an excellent 2013, has started 2014 strongly. The company reported results ahead of forecasts, as its BT Sports channels attracted over 2.5m customers. BT is also successfully using its broadband offering to more than offset its declining home phone connections.

The tobacco sector had a disappointing performance with British American Tobacco impacted by concerns over the emerging markets where it has a significant exposure. There are also concerns on how the e-cigarette market might change the outlook for traditional cigarette consumption, as well as the potential for plain packaging.

Serco also had a disappointing month. The company saw its share price fall sharply after warning that 2014 profits would fall by as much as 20% below market forecasts. The company cited the scaling back of its largest contract – a five year deal to manage onshore detention centres for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Australia. On a more positive note, the company is now eligible to bid for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) contract, after the UK government said it was reassured that Serco “had developed a thorough plan for corporate renewal” and that “this plan represents the right direction of travel to meet our expectations as a customer”.

11

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

Invesco Perpetual – Paul Read & Paul CauserCorporate Bond

While bond markets saw broadly positive returns in January, high yield bonds were relatively weak. Bond yields were pushed lower by falling inflation in the major developed markets and lower-than-expected growth in US employment. These factors outweighed continued signs of accelerating economic growth and a second reduction in the level of asset purchases by the US Federal Reserve. However, high yield returns were depressed by weaker equity markets and falling risk appetite in response to volatility in some emerging markets. According to data from Merrill Lynch, European high yield bonds had a total return for the month of -0.4% (in sterling terms), negatively affected by the strength of the pound. The aggregate yield for the market fell 15 basis points to 4.92%. Sterling investment grade corporate bonds returned 2.2% and Gilts returned 2.1%. Supply remains robust. At £5.7bn across all currencies, European high yield issuance was higher than in December but down on the £7.9bn level of January 2013.

Fund StrategyWe favour higher credit quality high yield bond issuers as well as higher yielding investment grade names. High yield bond yields are low by historical standards but they remain relatively high compared to the yields available on core government bonds, like UK Gilts and German Bunds, and the highest credit quality corporates. We believe we can still find opportunities, most notably in banks and other financials, where we think aggregate yields continue to offer value. In our view, ongoing structural reform and the implementation of new, more conservative banking sector regulations should be supportive of subordinated bank debt for many years.

Portfolio ActivityIn trading during the month we bought positions in Enel 6.625% (utilities) and EDF 5.875% (utilities). We reduced our positions in Lloyds 10.5% and Lloyds 11.25% (bank).

Invesco Perpetual – Nick MustoeGlobal Equity Income

Market CommentaryGlobal equity markets pulled back in January amid increasing emerging market turbulence. Emerging markets, and parts of Asia specifically, were the biggest laggards over the month. The sharp sell-off in emerging markets was based on concerns about an economic slowdown in China; currency slides in weak emerging economies such as Argentina and Turkey; and the further scaling back of the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) asset purchase programme which was reduced by another US$10bn at the end of the month. Whilst also ending the period in negative territory, developed equity markets performed relatively well as the economies of the US, UK and Europe continued to show signs of improvement.

Fund StrategyThe fund is entirely driven by stock selection, seeking the best investment ideas from anywhere in the world. The fund has a core of what we believe are sustainable growth, cash generative names, and companies with a strong aftermarket or services element which supports earnings stability. The fund also has a number of turnaround and special situation investments which we believe the market is mis-pricing.

12

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

During January we initiated new positions in Standard Chartered and Statoil. We believe that Standard Chartered has a strong capital and liquidity position and we bought into the company on share price weakness at a time when emerging markets have been under pressure. In the case of Statoil, we have a favourable view of the management team’s capital expenditure outlook. We sold our holding in Hoya on valuation grounds.

J O Hambro – John WoodUK & General Progressive

The monthly commentary comes around again. January is being described as volatile because broad stock market indices are down. Everybody is now searching for an explanation for what is now perceived as abnormal behaviour. It is interesting to us that the rise in markets last year, which occurred despite an absence of fundamental cash flow improvements, was not described in such tones. An asset that rises in price despite no underlying change in its fundamentals can fall in a similar vein, yet investors cheer one and exhibit angst when it comes to the other. We also find it odd that the smallest parts of the UK stock market were up on the month in January. This suggests to us that liquidity rather than fundamentals continues to dominate markets.

We think investors face an interesting choice: Waitrose quality at Waitrose prices or Aldi quality at Waitrose prices. We will stick to the former shopping universe.

Loomis, Sayles – Ken BuntrockInvestment Grade Corporate Bond

For the month of January, the portfolio returned 1.91%, compared to ML Sterling Non-Gilts, 25% FINCL Cap, 1-15yrs at 1.89%.

The outperformance is the result of security selection decisions and yield curve management. Gains from these areas more than offset ground lost from sector allocations.

Choices within Energy, Utilities, Technology & Electronics, Insurance, and Banking combined to drive alpha during the month. Positive returns were mitigated slightly by selections from with the Services and Consumer Non-Cyclical sectors.

The UK IG market managed to ever so slightly outperform gilts on an excess return basis in January, as spreads finished the month 1 bp tighter. The improving economic situation in the UK and the ongoing banking sector repair have supported the market. Building Materials and Banks were the best performers over the course of the month, while Energy and Metals underperformed. Active sector allocations dragged on relative performance. An underweight stance in Banking detracted, as did an overweight position in Energy. The majority of sector exposures had a neutral impact on relative results, but these areas were negative. An underweight stance in Quasi & Foreign Government issues was beneficial.

Overall, portfolio duration remains closely aligned with that of the Benchmark following the January index extension. In addition, the portfolio is generally neutral in the key rate buckets across the curve. However, a small number of select exposures to the longer end of the curve did contribute positively over the course of the month.

13

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

Majedie – James de UphaughUK Growth & UK General Progressive

Loosely blamed on a weak PMI print in China, sentiment quickly soured towards Emerging Markets (EM), sparking a foreign currency rout and the worst January for developed market equities in three years. Investors recoiled from risk and Treasuries were back in vogue, confounding the forecasts of many a sell side strategist. Fuelling the fears were weak inflation readings across the Eurozone and soft manufacturing numbers in the US, rather roughing up the much heralded synchronised global recovery.

Smaller companies however bucked the trend, while the FTSE 100 index listed under a heavy exposure to EM; your small cap exposure delivered a healthy contribution to performance. Marks & Spencer bounced back from a poor December after a trading statement hinted that a corner had been turned. Meanwhile a big profits warning from BG was bad news for shareholders but good news for the Fund, which had no exposure. Further downgrades weighed on British American Tobacco, again a stock (and indeed a sector) in which the Fund is not invested.

On the negative side, despite an increasingly attractive valuation Centrica continued to struggle post a late 2013 profit warning. Meanwhile, after a torrid few years, signs that the industry is becoming more disciplined saw buyers tentatively return to the mining sector, which enjoyed a New Year rally.

With the EM saga to our minds far from played out, we continue to position the portfolio with capital preservation very much in mind.

Oldfield Partners – Richard OldfieldHigh Octane

A month is a long time in markets, and the mood by the end of January was very different from that at the end of December. The main focus of concern has been on events in emerging markets. In China, newly built empty apartment blocks have long been observed, and false comfort may be taken from the fact that they are all sold pretty quickly – false because this continuing enthusiasm is a chilling signal of a credit bubble. We have all got used to the idea that China must grow, if not at 9 or 10 per cent a year, then at least at 6 or 7 per cent; but this is no more immutable a law than the one which used to be cited a few years ago that US home prices would never fall because they had never fallen. In other emerging markets, problems started with tapering by the Fed of their quantitative easing and a reversal of some of the enormous inflows into emerging markets in recent years. This outflow has created more fundamental problems: weakening currencies, higher interest rates to defend them, higher inflation, depressing factors for economic growth. John Connally, the US Treasury Secretary in President Nixon’s administration, is frequently quoted: “the dollar is our currency, but it is your problem.” However, Jerome Booth, former head of research at one of the largest emerging market specialists, Ashmore, provided a rejoinder to this view in a letter to The Financial Times in which he pointed out that what he, with relish, calls the HIDCs - the highly indebted developed countries – will be affected by these emerging market difficulties, because the largest owners of US Treasury bonds are the reserve funds of many of these emerging economies. A significant rise in US Treasury bond yields as a result of sales would cause much greater problems. There is a fairly universal view that US bond yields must rise and so one might think this was already discounted in investors’ expectations. But this position is reminiscent of 1994, when for months investors had known very well that interest rates were likely to rise; when they did, in spite of being so widely anticipated, both the bond market and the equity market took fright.

14

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

We continue to take a cautious view about companies in the US which tend to have relatively high valuations, and a more favourable view of those in Japan and Europe with lower valuations. All the same, when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold: if the US is weak, so will other markets be; but over the medium and long term, we would expect valuations to make a difference to relative returns, and the valuations in the portfolio still allow for an average of about 33% upside.

In the month, the weakest performers were Nintendo (-13% in local currency terms), MUFG (-13%), GM (-12%), Citigroup and Lukoil (each -9%). Nintendo announced the abandonment of all hope of reaching their targets for the Wii U. It remains to be seen whether, as the company’s president indicated, the result is more action to monetise the enormous intellectual property in the form of Mario, Zelda and other brands, so that Nintendo could become a software development company and library of content and cease to do battle in the hardware market where, finally, it seems to have lost. There was no obvious reason for MUFG’s weakness and we think it especially attractive. GM, an excellent performer in 2013, reacted to some slightly disappointing US car sales figures. Lukoil has become even more strikingly undervalued, in our view.

At the top end of the portfolio, the strongest performers were Fiat (+24% in local currency terms), Barrick Gold (+15%), Renault (+11%), Vivendi (+4%), and Hewlett-Packard (+4%). The chief executive of Fiat, Sergio Marchionne, has pulled it off: the acquisition of the 41.5% of Chrysler which Fiat had not yet acquired was announced, and on terms which were surprisingly favourable to Fiat, part of the cash for the payment to the present owner, the union VEBA, coming from Chrysler’s own balance sheet. Barrick Gold reacted to a better gold price. There did not appear to be any particular news with Renault.

One of the insights to spring from the financial crisis of recent years has been the Minsky moment: the view that recurring stability breeds instability because it encourages excessive risk and leverage, until it reaches the moment when the house of cards tumbles. Gordon Brown’s view that he had got rid of the boom-bust cycle thus had within it the seeds of its own destruction. The interesting obverse is that instability causes stability: crisis, and fear of further crisis, results in risk aversion and reduction in leverage, so that risks and volatility are actually much lower than they appear to be because of the actions taken to mitigate them. This is, of course, especially evident in banking, where banks are reluctant to lend to anything which they think is vaguely risky, they have withdrawn from all sorts of trading activities which are inherently volatile, and they have greatly increased their capital bases. This begs the question, where are we now in the Minsky cycle? We have certainly been through a period in which risk aversion was dominant, but that period is now quite long-lived. We have had five years of bull market, and it is possible that complacency, not risk aversion, is now the dominant sentiment, reflected in high valuations in some places though not in others. We are inclined to think that we are still in favourable territory, with more economic stability, stronger balance sheets than in the past, and the continuing easy money policy (even with tapering). But the last couple of weeks have given a reminder that there are plenty of cracks in the world picture.

Orchard Street – Chris BartramProperty

Life & Pensions fundThe portfolio valuation was up 0.3% month on month and there have been no tenant insolvencies.

At Florey House in Oxford we have completed a new 7 year lease on the first floor creating £145,000 of income whilst simultaneously removing the 2014 break option from the second floor lease. These initiatives have enhanced the valuation by 36%.

15

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

We have exchanged contracts for a new 10year lease on the 8th floor at New London House in the City. The annual rent of £323,000 equates to £47.50 p.s.f. which is ahead of ERV and brings vacancy in the building to 12.1%

At Chiswick in West London we have completed a new 10 year lease to Vodafone with an uplift in rent resulting in a valuation increase of 5.5%.

Finally, we have agreed a new 5 year lease on Unit 5 at Trinity Trading Estate at Hayes at a rent of £225,000 p.a.in line with ERV.

The initial yield on the portfolio is 5.9% compared with 6.0% for IPD and the vacancy rate is 4.5% against 9.4% for IPD.

Property Unit TrustThe portfolio valuation as at 31st January 2014 was up 0.3% month on month. There have been no tenant insolvencies during the month.

It is interesting to note that 98.5% of the Q4 2013 rent demanded was paid within 14 days which compares very favourably with an industry average of approximately 85%. This is a reflection of the strength of the tenant base within the fund.

The vacancy rate on the portfolio remains extremely low at 1.0% compared with 9.4% for IPD.

The initial yield on the portfolio is 6.4% which compares with 6.0% for IPD as at 31st January 2014.

PIMCO – Mohamed El-ErianMulti Asset

Positioning - Continued to target the lower-end of our long-term volatility range given slowing global growth and generally

full valuations in major asset classes.

- Emphasized equity markets with stronger growth prospects, higher dividend yields, and attractive valuations. Tactically reduced exposure to select emerging market equities as negative technicals continue to overwhelm attractive fundamentals. Instead, the fund continued targeting country specific allocations (and took advantage of the mini-sell off in developed equities to add exposure.

- Within fixed income, the curve exposure was maintained, emphasizing an allocation to the front-end of the curve. The Fund maintained interest rate exposure in markets with positive real rates, such as Australia and Brazil. On the other hand, the short exposure to eurozone swap rates was reduced as the Eurozone economic fundamentals are improving. Within spread fixed income sectors, we continued to favour non-Agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) on attractive loss-adjusted yields.

- Within inflation-related strategies the exposures was shifted to the steepest part of the curve (intermediate) to benefit from additional carry through roll down

16

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

Outlook and Strategy - PIMCO’s asset allocation approach recognizes that asset class returns are explained by three fundamental

components: yield, income growth, and valuation change. These components are influenced by the underlying macro variables that explain global growth – real growth and inflation. This is why our secular and cyclical views are critical in informing asset allocation decisions.

- Based on this approach the Fund has a balanced exposure to emerging and developed markets equities. US equities warrant caution, despite recent price momentum, since US equity market performance in 2012-2013 was primarily fueled by rising valuations (i.e. P/E multiples) instead of earnings growth. Higher P/E multiples are warranted when future earnings and dividend growth prospects increase, but instead we have seen peaking corporate profits and slowing revenue, earnings and real GDP growth. In contrast, emerging markets equities offer higher dividends, stronger earnings growth, and attractive valuations.

- Within fixed income the Fund is seeking opportunities to increase yield, while limiting overall interest rate exposure. The Fund’s interest rate exposure is positive in markets with higher real rates, such as Australia and Brazil, and negative in the markets with lower rates, such as Japan. We also still see value in non-Agency MBS securities as they offer attractive levels of yield, even adjusted for potential losses.

- In addition to positions reflecting our global macro views, the Fund will also use bottom-up “alpha” strategies to enhance returns within asset classes and tail risk hedging strategies that aim to limit losses during severe market downturns.

Month in review The sell-off in both developed and emerging market equities in January hurt the Fund’s equity position.

Overall contributions from fixed income exposure were positive over the month as rates rallied. Positive U.S. and Australian interest rate exposure added to performance while duration hedges in Europe, Japan and UK only partly offset the positive contributions. Non-Agency MBS positions gained value as they continued to benefit from limited supply and ongoing signs of recovery in the U.S. housing market.

The Fund’s modest exposure to inflation-related strategies, focused in gold and U.S. TIPS, also added to performance. A decrease in U.S. TIPS real yields led to positive performance in the Fund’s longer-dated U.S TIPS holdings. Additionally, the Fund’s small allocation to gold contributed as investors rushed into the perceived safety of gold.

RWC Partners – Nick PurvesEquity Income

The first month of 2014 has brought with it a change in market sentiment, with tapering, emerging market worries and weak macro data bringing about the worst January for stocks since 2010. The drop in confidence in emerging markets saw significant pressure on a number of EM currencies, in particular those of Turkey, South Africa and Argentina beginning the ‘risk-off’ sentiment that lasted into month-end. These worries were further exacerbated by soft economic data in the US including a low payrolls number and weak housing data. Even ‘good’ data such as Q4 GDP, which rose to 3.2% q-o-q annualised, is less impressive than first appears due to the increased contribution from inventories and weaker consumption and final sales, which in turn will likely be a drag to the numbers in 2014. Despite this the US Federal Reserve continued to wind-down its asset purchases by reducing the pace of QE by a further $10 billion per month.

17

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

The final issue was the continuing weak data in Europe, including an unexpected fall in inflation matching its lowest print since 2009; this will continue to stoke deflationary fears and raise questions as to what extent the ECB will act at their next meeting. These worries saw a sell-off in equities, led by the US, with the S&P 500 falling 4% from its peak in the middle of the month and the FTSE 100 falling almost 5% from its peak in the month.

Despite the weakness in the stock market, the economic recovery in the UK continues. Data released in January showed the unemployment rate in the UK had fallen to 7.1% in the three months to November from 7.4% previously. In August of last year, the Bank of England laid out plans not to tighten monetary policy at least until unemployment had reached a 7% threshold (subject to a number of economic ‘knockouts’).

While the economic recovery in the UK has been much stronger than anticipated, the Bank of England is very unlikely to move when the unemployment rate hits the 7% threshold; indeed it was noted in the minutes from the latest MPC meeting the committee expect the threshold to be hit “materially earlier” than previously thought and that the committee saw “no need to raise Bank Rate even if the unemployment threshold were to be breached in the near future”. Mark Carney furthered this point during his talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos and said forward guidance will be re-examined by the MPC at the February Inflation Report.

The Fund had a very good month significantly outperforming the benchmark. The clothing retailer Next was the best performer in the portfolio as the shares rallied to their highest level ever after holiday sales beat expectations, management raised their full-year profit forecast and a special dividend to investors was announced. AstraZeneca had a good month, and was a strong contributor portfolio return following news that the company expects to return to growth sooner than the market predicts. BSkyB was also a strong performer in the month reporting solid interim results.

The share price in Centrica continues to fall despite there being no significant new developments in the company over the month. Vodafone was also a negative contributor in the month as shares fell sharply after US firm AT&T said it had no plans to make a takeover offer for Vodafone; it was believed Vodafone were a good target for AT&T who are looking to expand into Europe. This month is likely to have come as a shock to many with markets buoyed by the ultra-easy monetary conditions of the last few years - at times it appeared the only way was up. The tail-end of January has only seen a small correction in the markets and we continue to believe that following a period of strong returns and at a time of high valuation it is still best to adopt a cautious investment stance.

Sands Capital – David Levanson & Sunil ThakorGlobal Equity

As long-term investors in business enterprises, not traders of stocks, Sands Capital focuses on the underlying fundamentals and long-term growth prospects of our businesses, not short-term stock price movements.

For January, Facebook, Biogen Idec, and Google were the top contributors to relative performance. Biogen recently reported strong fourth quarter results, which were driven principally by the ongoing launch of Tecfidera, its novel treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We believe Tecfidera will become the leading therapy in the MS market over the long term and are optimistic about the potential growth drivers embedded in Biogen’s research and development pipeline.

ARM Holdings, CP All, and Petrofac were the largest detractors from relative performance in January. CP All, Thailand’s exclusive franchisee of 7-Eleven convenience stores, has been pressured by the recent political unrest in Thailand. The country has a history of political instability, which we considered prior to investing in

18

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

CP All. Typically, it has not disrupted business, financial markets, and underlying economic activity. We think this will hold true for CP All and continue to believe the company well positioned to benefit from growth in the upcountry region and the ongoing formalization of Thai retail.

Schroder Investment Management – Nick Kirrage and Kevin MurphySchroder Managed & Managed Growth Unit Trust

Global equity markets suffered a weak start to the year with risk assets being hit across the board. Emerging markets bore the brunt of the losses, starting with currency declines first in Argentina and then across other countries. The weakness in emerging markets was triggered by concerns about the scaling back of quantitative easing (QE) in the US. US GDP data suggested a strong annualised growth rate of 3.2%, seeming to justify the Federal Reserve’s decision to reduce QE by another $10 billion. Emerging market sovereign bonds saw a sell-off but US, UK, and German sovereign bonds were in demand as investors sought safe havens.

Pacific equities were alone in recording a positive absolute return in January. UK and US equities fell in absolute terms, although both outperformed their respective benchmarks. Within UK equities, a number of economically sensitive companies that had performed strongly last year experienced short-term price weakness. On the upside, AstraZeneca was the largest contributor to returns as it reassured investors on its revenue expectations. The Fund’s exposure to bonds was positive, with longer-dated US and German bonds the standout strong performers as investors retreated from risky assets and into safe havens.

Select Equity – George Loening & Chad ClarkWorldwide Opportunities

For the month of January 2014, the Fund returned -3.5%, versus a -3.3% MSCI ACW return, with an average net exposure of 95% during the period. The Fund added two new positions to the portfolio over the month, the most significant of which is a global value-added chemicals distributor based in Germany.

During the month, three securities detracted more than -0.2% from the Fund’s performance. The position that detracted the most was Intertek, a leading global provider of testing and inspection services based in the UK. The Fund increased its holdings in Intertek during the period, as we continue to believe the business has excellent long-term prospects.

SW Mitchell Capital – Stuart MitchellContinental European, Greater European & Greater European Progressive

Unit Trust

We purchased a new position in Saint-Gobain. The company is world leader in almost all business areas including flat glass, high performance materials (ceramics, plastics and glass textiles), business distribution and packaging (Verallia). Management has introduced aggressive cost cutting measures (€580m) aimed primarily at reducing flat glass capacity in Europe (19% production) and withdrawing from the solar market. At the same time, the sales outlook for the business appears to be improving, with residential construction gradually recovering in the

19

F U N D M A N A G E R M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

US, strong growth in Latin America and a stabilisation in the European automotive markets. Management is also working hard to reduce debt by reducing capital expenditure (€ 200m) and making a number of disposals (Verallia North America and PVC Pipe and Foundations). The share could be trading on 9 times 2015 earnings, generating a 13% return on capital.We also cut our investment in Accor with the appointment of the new CEO and significant change in strategy.

Tweedy, Browne – Will Browne, John Spears, Robert Wyckoff & Thomas Shrager

Global Equity

The portfolio’s returns for the month were driven by poor price action in our more cyclical holdings, such as our bank stocks, energy stocks and industrial holdings. Our tobacco stocks were also down for the month. All of our bank stocks were down, with Banco Santander Brasil facing the most pressure. The same held for our oil and gas holdings, industrials such as G4S, 3M and Illinois Tool Works, and tobacco stocks such as Philip Morris International and BAT.

There were a few bright spots such as Axel Springer, Zurich Insurance and Safran among a few others, but most stocks traded off for the month. While portfolio activity was sparse during the month, we did add Standard Chartered Bank, the large UK-based bank whose business is focused primarily on Asian, Middle Eastern, African and other emerging markets. The stock declined during the month, giving us what we believe to be an attractive entry point price. At purchase, Standard Chartered Bank was trading at less than 10 times earnings, and pays a dividend yield of approximately 5%. If January’s market volatility persists in the weeks and months ahead, we should be able to put some of the portfolio’s excess cash to work.

Wellington – Haluk Soykan and Paul GraingerGilts

Gilts rallied during January amid heightened concerns about emerging markets and softer global economic data. In the UK, by contrast, data releases continued to show signs of economic strength. Unemployment fell to 7.1%, prompting speculation that interest rates might rise sooner than had been expected. However, the rhetoric from members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) suggested that rate hikes remain a long way off. The GDP number for the fourth quarter was confirmed as +0.7%, in line with the market’s expectations.

For the month of January the portfolio underperformed, returning 1.33%, 5bps under the spliced benchmark return of 1.38%.

The MPC’s challenge is now to manage rate hike expectations given the improving housing market, strong consumer confidence and positive credit conditions. The wage inflation numbers over the next couple of months are the key driver of a potential rate rise. Yet the MPC is wary of putting the recovery at risk, and we think it will be looking for any reasons not to hike.

The information contained herein represents the views and opinions of our fund managers, and not those necessarily held by St. James’s Place Wealth Management.

The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.Members of the St. James’s Place Partnership represent St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.St. James’s Place UK plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

St. James’s Place UK plc Registered Office: St. James’s Place House, 1 Tetbury Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1FP, United Kingdom.Registered in England Number 2628062.