Over August, the Trust’s total shareholder return, NAV total return and equity portfolio
return were 1.9%, 2.6% and 2.3% respectively, underperforming the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) which returned 2.8% over the same period.

There were a number of key geo-political events that have increased market volatility during this month, such as increasing tensions between the US and North Korea, terrorist attacks in Spain and the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the US energy sector. However, macroeconomic data across Europe, US, UK and Japan continues to be positive supporting the continued global economic recovery.

Emerging markets continued to lead against global developed markets, returning 4.6% versus 2.6% and 1.5% respectively for the US and UK. Over the quarter, sterling depreciated against the dollar (-2.3%) and the yen (-2.6%), which contributed to the relative underperformance of the equity portfolio as it was overweight UK and underweight US and Japan.

We expect increased volatility from the current low levels and believe that this increased
volatility will create dispersion within markets and sectors providing an ideal environment for talented stock pickers.

For more market insight, read our view from the Investment Manager.