Fund commentary

Market Review
As fears of a financial crisis in Europe receded and the US economy showed further signs of improvement, share prices worldwide jumped higher. The MSCI World index was up by 11.3% in local currency, total return terms.

Fund Performance
The Fund outperformed the median in the first quarter of 2012. Technology firm, Apple, was the main contributor to Fund outperformance over the quarter, whilst metals & mining firm, Goldcorp, was the main detractor to performance during the period.

Fund Positioning
Fears of a potential slowdown in Chinese growth served to dampen investor enthusiasm, although continued positive economic data from the US provided some cheer. As previously, the Fund remains balanced in its risk exposures, with a preference for companies exposed to improving levels of activity in the US.