Fund commentary

Market Review
The FTSE All Share fell by 0.3% as the positive impetus provided by the European Central Bank’s long term refinancing operation began to fade. Preliminary gross domestic product estimates also confirmed that the UK economy had fallen back into recession, with a second consecutive quarter of negative growth.

Fund Performance
The Fund gave back some of its recent gains in April however remains ahead of the sector average over the year-to-date. Stock selection was the key driver of performance over the month with positions in India focussed energy companies Indus Gas and KSK Power proving detrimental. Miner Glencore proved the largest positive.

Fund Positioning
We took profits in Indus Gas after a period of strong outperformance. We also continued to reduce holdings in the oil majors, reinvesting proceeds in a new position in Barclays and an increased holding in Rio Tinto. The banks and the miners both remain amongst the Fund’s largest underweight positions.