Globally equity markets were stronger in July. The key driver was lower than expected inflation data from the US and Australia which gave investors optimism around the expected number of interest rate rises required to bring inflation to targeted levels. In the US, the S&P 500 rose +3.1%, the Nasdaq increased +4.1%, whilst in the UK, the FTSE was up +2.2%. In Australia, the All Ordinaries Accumulation index rose +3.0%. Top performing sectors were Energy (boosted by crude oil rising +16%) and Banks. Healthcare underperformed as investors sought exposure to more cyclical sectors. Interestingly on the ASX, small caps outperformed large caps in the month (Small Ords Acc Index +3.5% vs All Ords Acc Index +3.0%).

August will see the vast majority of the Fund's holdings report their results for the six months to 30 June 2023. We look forward to catching up with the various management teams to see how they are trading in what is a challenging business environment. Many companies have already pre announced their results for the six months to 30 June, so commentary and outlook statements will be particularly interesting to investors.