News & Information

Recent news stories regarding our IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities Fund are below.
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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

6th March 2023

February: FTSE hits 8000 (but fails to hold the level) The FTSE 100 hit record highs in February surpassing the 8000 level for the first time before coming off its highs. Whilst the FTSE 100, with its significant exposure to oil & gas and mining companies, may have hit new highs, the more UK focused… Click to find out more

8th February 2023

A strong start to 2023 for equities Last month we wrote that a Christmas rally had been more of a whimper but this month saw strong gains for global equities with the FTSE 100 hitting four-year highs. The FTSE 250 and small caps also enjoyed a strong month but remain well below recent year highs… Click to find out more

18th January 2023

December: the Santa Christmas Whimper The Santa rally failed to materialise as equity markets fell in December. The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England both again raised interest rates. Optimists believe we are nearing the end of the rate raising cycle, others believe there are more rises to come and rates may need… Click to find out more

13th December 2022

November: FTSE 100 records best month since November 2020 Last month we asked, ‘Is this market for turning?’ as we felt the point of maximum pessimism (the bungled Kwarteng mini budget and Truss’s brief Premiership) had passed. November proved a constructive month for equity markets. Interest rates were raised in both the UK and US… Click to find out more

3rd November 2022

October: is this market for turning? Politics again was at the forefront as the government U-turned on its controversial mini budget of September 23. As readers will be well aware, this led to the sacking of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and was soon followed by the resignation of Liz Truss, who at 49 days, proved to… Click to find out more