MultiManager Income Fund

The investment objective of the fund is to achieve an income in excess of the

MSCI World Index, alongside the potential for capital growth from investment

primarily in a global spread of collective investment schemes, including open-

ended investment companies and unit trusts as well as investment trusts.

as at 31 January 2010

Key points

  • A multi-asset fund holding equities, bonds and cash with the additional option of investing in private equity, structured products and property
  • Target yield in excess of the MSCI World Index
  • Investment management responsibility for the fund has been with John Husselbee of North Investment Partners since July 2004
  • Sector: IMA Cautious Managed

Current views

Concerns over the sustainability of higher asset valuations, reached after a long rally in equities, seem to have come to a head in January. This sentiment pushed equities markets down over the month. In the Eurozone, worries heightened that the Greek government might default without support from its European neighbours. Apprehension around liquidity surfaced with earlier-than-expected tightening by China and around the risk of compulsory deleveraging with the announcement of new regulations for the banking sector in the United States.

The FTSE 100 dropped 5.7%* over the course of the month, as it seems the wider investment community sought to remove risk from the table. Whilst, the economic recovery remains fragile, corporate profits are improving and interest rates remain at record lows. We believe that this retracement is temporary and that going forward equities will continue to serve as the primary asset class for portfolio growth.

Accordingly, we have held the course and did not make any significant portfolio changes in January. Achieving the correct balance between risk and reward requires allocation across a wide variety of asset classes. A multi-manager approach rooted in identifying the correct blend of non-correlated diversified assets is particularly well suited to volatile markets such as these.

* Source: Bloomberg, 01.01.2010 – 29.01.2010

Holdings and asset class

First State Asia Pacific Equity
Schroder Income Maximiser Equity
M&G Optimal Income Fixed interest
G/Sachs Dig Acc Swap Fixed interest
City Financial Strategic Gilt Fixed interest
L&G Dynamic Bond Fixed interest
BlackRock World Mining Commodity
G/Sachs Emerging Markets Currency
Invesco Perpetual Asia Equity
Cazenove Absolute Equity Alternative

Financial information

Nav Class Acc Bid: 230.42p Ask: 245.26p
Nav Class Inc Bid: 146.21p Ask: 155.62p
Total net assets £19.9m

Asset allocation

Equities by region (exposure as % of equities)

Fund performance vs IMA Cautious Managed sector

Five-year performance

Year- Calendar year
to-date 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
Fund -1.79% 24.99% -29.20% 8.44% 8.66% 24.04%
MSCI World Index -3.37% 16.45% -17.39% 7.72% 5.83% 23.04%
IMA Cautious Managed sector -0.74 15.78% -16.38% 1.20% 6.80% n/a
IMA Cautious Managed sector ranking 143/161 9/149 111/115 2/94 30/76 n/a
Quartile 4 1 4 1 2 n/a

Fund facts

ISIN Class Acc GB0003485397
ISIN Class Inc GB0003485405
Bloomberg tickers
Class Acc QUIHGIA LN
Class Inc QUIHGII LN
Distribution Semi Annual
30 April & 31 October
Dealing/valuation frequency Daily
Accounting year-end 31 August
Settlement T+4
EU Savings Directive In scope
Currency GBP
Annual charge Class A 1.50%
Minimum initial Class A £1,000
Initial charge 5.00%
ISA wrapper Yes
ISA transfer Yes
Savings plan Yes
Sector
  – IMA Cautious Managed
Depositary
BNY Mellon Trust & Depositary (UK) Ltd
Registrar
Capita Financial Administrators