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Edinburgh US Tracker Trust plc

 

Objective

The objective of Edinburgh US Tracker Trust plc is to invest in a portfolio designed to track closely the S&P Composite Index, both in terms of capital and income.

Manager's Monthly Report

July 2010


Performance

The capital NAV of the Trust fell by 8.1% in June which was in line with the return from the index. The value of sterling against the US dollar rose from $1.45 to $1.50, exacerbating the fall in US equities (down by over 5%) to sterling based investors. The Company bought back 46,000 shares for cancellation during the month. Equity markets fell further in June as the doubts arose about the durability of the economic recovery. Real GDP growth for the first quarter was lowered again, from 3.0% to 2.7%, and the economic data for May also pointed to a loss of momentum. The unemployment, housing starts and retail sales figures were weaker than expected and this trend was also reflected by a fall in consumer confidence. The Federal Reserve commented on the improving inflation figures and indicated that interest rates would remain at historically low levels for an extended period.

Activity

The changes to the constituents of the Index in June were CarMax replacing XTO Energy, which was acquired by Exxon Mobil, and QEP Resources replacing Questar.

Strategy

The portfolio replicates in full the constituents and weightings of the S&P 500 Composite Index.


Source: Monthly Factsheet Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited