Fund Manager's Comment
Data as at 30 September 2008
The two sub-sectors, Banks and Financial Services, usually move in tandem and from a bottom-up point of view we felt that the valuations, growth rates, and general financial characteristics of a number of Financial Services stocks were more attractive than those of Banks. However, in September the UK banks did very well, outperforming the market as Lloyds and HBOS were “told” to merge and Bradford & Bingley was dealt with by the government. So Banks outperformed Financial Services by a strong 15%. Such a monthly divergence has happened only twice before over the past 20 years. This is just one of many examples of how traditional correlations don’t work in the current volatile environment.
On a stock level we made money in our defensive holdings such as the coal-powered utility Drax (up 2.8%), Scottish & Southern, as well as one of our non-UK holdings, the US-based pharma-giant Pfizer (both down, but less than the market). The losers, unfortunately, easily outnumbered our winners, and to mention a few, we lost significant money in the mining company Anglo-American (down 37%), Man Group (the world’s biggest hedge fund manager down 41%)), as well as in cyclical industrials, Cookson and Charter, which were sharply sold off (27% and 34% down) as the flow of negative economic news intensified.
Awards
UK Equity PDFKey Facts
| Fund Size (GBP) | 1.8m |
|---|---|
| Price EUR (A Acc Shares) | 87.13 |
| Price GBP (A Acc Shares) | 69.36 |
| Price EUR (A Inc Shares) | 85.91 |
| Price GBP (A Inc Shares) | 68.40 |
| Minimum Lump Sum Investment | £ 1,000 |
| Launch | 11 December 2006 |
| Launch Price (EUR) | 148.24 |
| Launch Price (GBP) | 100 |
| Initial Charge | 5.0% |
| Annual Management Charge | 1.5% |
| Unit Type | Accumulation/ Income |
| Currency Type | EUR/GBP |
| Valuation | Daily, 12pm UK/1pm Lux |
| ISIN (A GBP Acc) | LU0268339495 |
|---|---|
| Sedol (A GBP Acc) | B1J2Q50 |
| Bloomberg (A GBP Acc) | ARTUKAC LX |
| ISIN (I GBP Acc) | LU0268338927 |
| Sedol (I GBP Acc) | B1J9B12 |
| Bloomberg (I GBP Acc) | ARTUKIC LX |
Data as at 30 September 2008.
Performance
| Since Launch* | 1 Year | 6 Months | 3 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Equity Fund A Acc £ | -30.6 | -32.3 | -19.0 | -20.6 |
| FTSE All Share | -16.8 | -22.3 | -13.5 | -12.2 |
| Excess Return | -13.8 | -10.0 | -5.5 | -8.4 |
| Sector Average | -21.8 | -25.0 | -15.3 | -13.4 |
| Position in Sector | 59 | 67 | 65 | 75 |
| Funds in Sector | 63 | 73 | 77 | 79 |
| Quartile | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Source: Lipper Limited, NAV to NAV in sterling with net income reinvested to 30 September 2008. * Data from 11 December 2006. The Artemis UK Equity Fund does not belong to an IMA sector. For comparative purposes 'sector average' is made up of Equity UK funds domiciled in Luxembourg and Dublin. Please remember that past performance is not a guide to the future.
Value of £1,000 invested at Launch to 30 September 2008
Source: Lipper Limited, NAV to NAV in sterling with net income reinvested to 30 September 2008. Data from 11 December 2006.
Asset Allocation*
*Without cash. Source: Internal
Top Ten Holdings*
| Royal Dutch Shell B | 8.4% |
|---|---|
| BP | 6.5% |
| AstraZeneca | 5.1% |
| Scottish & Southern Energy | 4.2% |
| BAE Systems | 3.2% |
| Anglo American | 2.9% |
| HSBC Holdings | 2.9% |
| BHP Billiton | 2.8% |
| Pfizer | 2.6% |
| Standard Chartered | 2.6% |
* Without cash.
Source: Internal.
Market Sector Split*
| Oil & Gas Producers | 20.3% |
|---|---|
| Banks | 9.3% |
| Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology | 8.9% |
| Financial Services | 8.4% |
| Mining | 7.5% |
| Electricity | 5.8% |
| Aerospace & Defense | 3.8% |
| General Retailers | 3.4% |
| Gas, Water & Multli-Utilities | 3.3% |
| Other | 29.3% |
* Without cash.
Source: Internal.
Risk Warning
Artemis International SICAV is organised under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg as a société d'investissement à capital variable (a "SICAV"). The Fund is an investment company which offers investors a choice between several classes of shares (each a "Class") in a number of sub-funds (each a "Sub-Fund"). Each Sub-Fund qualifies as a UCITS. This document is not an invitation to subscribe for shares in the Fund and is provided for information purposes only. Subscriptions for shares in the Fund can only be made on the basis of the current prospectus and simplified prospectus, copies of which can be obtained free of charge from Artemis Investment Management Ltd Cassini House, 57 St James’s Street, London SW1A 1LD. Shares in the Fund are not available for sale, nor should this document be considered available for distribution, in any jurisdiction in which the sale would be unlawful. Currently the Fund is registered for sale in France, Luxembourg, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and United Kingdom.
Past performance is not a guide to the future. The value of an investment, and any income from it, can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency fluctuations and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Issued by Artemis Investment Management Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS.
