Market Review
Japanese equity markets made a very strong start to 2012: the Topix index was up 18.6% in yen, total return terms over the first quarter. The Japanese government revealed that fourth-quarter GDP for 2011 had contracted by 0.7% on an annual basis, much less than the initial forecast of 2.3%.
Fund Performance
The Fund underperformed the median over the first quarter of 2012. Toyota Motor Corporation was the main positive impact on performance, with pharmaceuticals firm, Eisai, the largest drag on Fund performance over the period.
Fund Positioning
The Fund remains defensively positioned although we would look to reduce our defensive bias over the coming months, as and when the world economic situation begins to stabilise.
Nick Duncan &Stephen Hall
31 March 2012