Report for black-September 2008

Make no mistake, the global financial turmoil affects us too! However, there are suggestions in this month's report that our new strategy might be beginning to pay off.

The FTSE100 fell 13% in the month to September 30, the lowest for several years. However, our portfolio fell "only" 8% and the Unit Value was "only" 4% lower. We have 30% of our assets in cash (earning interest), and our diversified portfolio contains bonds that are somewhat less sensitive to the vagaries of the market.

This is not to minimise the extent of our losses. Note that the Unit Value is well below 100: i.e. we are showing an overall loss, our assets being worth less now than we have paid in (less withdrawals).