News & Information

Recent news stories regarding our IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities Fund are below.
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5th March 2024

February: UK drifts higher though lags the US, Europe and Japan The UK market proved stable as it shrugged off confirmation that the UK was officially in recession, as the 0.3% fall in GDP, marked the second successive quarter of negative growth. Thankfully it is not expected to be a protracted recession as inflation is… Click to find out more

6th February 2024

January: Uninspiring start to 2024 – UK valuations remain attractive The UK market was unable to maintain the strength it had enjoyed the previous two months, underperforming other major markets, notably the US, which continues to be buoyed by expectations of interest rate cuts and the large cap technology stocks. UK inflation unexpectedly rose to… Click to find out more

9th January 2024

December: Santa delivers a rally and so to 2024 The UK market advanced in December as the ‘Santa rally’ continued, aided by the US Federal Reserve indicating that it would cut interest rates in 2024 and UK inflation falling more than anticipated. The Mid Cap FTSE 250 again outperformed in December, being a more domestic… Click to find out more

6th December 2023

November: Santa rally? Last month we commented on the market being ‘down and not out’ and this has quickly come to pass as November witnessed a market recovery, particularly in the mid cap FTSE 250 which surged 7.1% (on a total return basis) from over sold levels. The large cap FTSE 100 made more sedate… Click to find out more

6th November 2023

October: Markets spooked – down but not out The UK and other major markets experienced a difficult October as markets continued to fret over interest rates staying higher for longer in order to combat stubborn inflation. Economic growth, whilst slowing, remains resilient and the world is still adjusting to the sharp rise in interest rates… Click to find out more

6th October 2023

September: Interest rate peak? The UK and particularly the FTSE 100 moved higher over the course of September as the UK market significantly outperformed other major markets, notably the US which recorded its worst fall of the year. Inflation fell again (to 6.7%) and below forecasts. The Bank of England held rates at 5.25%, after… Click to find out more

4th September 2023

August: Summer lull The UK and global equities failed to build on July’s gains. Concerns over the economic outlook for China’s economy and its faltering property market coupled with a Fitch credit agency downgrade of the US, weighed on markets. At home, the Bank of England raised rates by 0.25% (to 5.25%), a 14th consecutive… Click to find out more

3rd August 2023

July: Treading a fine line.  UK markets drifted lower in the first half of the month before rallying on a lower than anticipated annual inflation print of 7.9% (falling from 8.7%). Energy and food price inflation continues to fall and is expected to fall further. Expectations are for the Bank of England to still raise… Click to find out more

5th July 2023

June: High inflation and further UK rate rises drag on UK market UK markets failed to make headway, again materially underperforming other major markets such as the US, which continued to be buoyed by its strong mega cap technology sector as excitement over Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to make headlines. With May’s inflation print remaining… Click to find out more

2nd June 2023

May: Stubbornly high inflation May saw a significant fall in UK equities, materially underperforming other major markets such as the US, which was buoyed by its strong mega cap technology sector. The Bank of England again raised interest rates and signalled that there are more interest rate rises to come as the April inflation print… Click to find out more

9th May 2023

April: M&A galore April saw a rebound in global equity markets following the worries of a banking crisis in March which saw three US banks face liquidation and Credit Suisse rescued by UBS. We believe the events have been contained and specific to poorly managed banks. The banking sector has staged a partial recovery in… Click to find out more

5th April 2023

March: This is not Global Financial Crisis 2 A month can be a long time in the investment world, and this most certainly proved the case this March. February ended with the FTSE 100 flirting with record highs and genuine belief that the UK economy was likely to avoid recession. However, March saw three US… Click to find out more