Investment FundsCF Cheviot Balanced Fund

CG Real Return Fund

A specialist fixed interest fund with c. £600m in assets under management. The Fund invests solely in index-linked governments bonds, with a heavy bias away from the UK. The Fund has displayed low levels of volatility combined with a negative correlation with equity markets. Because the currency exposure is left un-hedged, it benefits from a weaker pound sterling. This Fund offers a useful protection against inflation. The Fund has been closed to new investors since March 2009.

Invesco Perpetual Income Fund

Neil Woodford has managed this UK equity income fund since 1990 and has enjoyed one of the best track records of any fund manager in the UK. He tends to pursue a defensive approach towards UK equity investment, often eschewing some of the more highly rated areas of the market in favour of sectors with more visible earnings streams such as tobacco and utilities. His funds have performed particularly well, in relative terms, in falling markets. The Fund is currently some £4bn in size.

Findlay Park American Smaller Companies Fund

Findlay Park is a boutique US small-cap equity fund manager, founded by Jamie Findlay in 1998. Findlay had previously enjoyed an excellent track record at Foreign and Colonial and has continued to exhibit above average performance whilst at Findlay Park. The American Smaller Companies Fund has outperformed its benchmark every calendar year - bar one (2003) - since inception in 1998. The Fund maintains a deep value investment style and is over $4bn in size. The Fund has been closed to new investors since 2002.

Polar Capital Technology Trust

The objective of the Fund is to maximise capital growth through investing in a diversified portfolio of technology companies around the world. It is a well diversified fund predominantly invested in blue-chip companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Samsung. The majority of the Fund’s investments are in North America and Asia which are set to be the main beneficiaries of technology expenditure with economic growth returning and expected to increase throughout 2010. The Fund is focused on investing in ‘next-generation’ companies that have the scope for accelerated earnings growth as the adoption of new technology becomes a competitive necessity. The Fund has total assets of £350 million and is currently trading on a discount to its net asset value.

HICL Infrastructure

The Fund invests in infrastructure projects which are predominantly in their operating phase and yielding steady returns. Infrastructure as an asset class offers an inflation protected and steadily growing yield (currently 5.2%) with some potential for capital growth. Recent evidence suggests that it shows little correlation with global equity markets, and is a useful way of diversifying exposure within portfolios. HICL’s portfolio of assets is predominately UK based and includes the Greater Manchester Police Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence training college in Colchester.