Athelney Trust appears to have come out of the second tricky month in a row relatively scot-free with the unaudited NAV having fallen in September by 0.3%, whereas the comparatives such as the FTSE Small Cap and AIM All-share were down by 1.9% and 0.8% respectively. The Fledgling was unchanged on the month.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle seems to be chugging along at about 2.5% in terms of GDP growth but there are concerns about other parts of the world such as America, China and emerging markets (EMs) generally. In the States, payrolls are growing slower than forecast at less than 150,000 for two consecutive months, which probably caused the Fed to defer (rightly, in my view) a decision to raise rates. The good news of that decision was overcome by the bad news of the reason for that decision so we had a sharp sell-off in world markets. Then, there is now considerable cynicism about China’s real growth rate so the slowing of its pace and the miscues of its leaders over the summer have badly damaged confidence. Returning to America, are investors ready for the trend in corporate profits, which seems to me to be on the way down? Sales are stagnant and margins lower so only more share buy-backs (bad idea) can keep earnings going forward. Deflation exported from EMs is a possibility which, should it happen, would make it harder for companies in the West to raise prices or even keep them steady.

As we enter October, the month when meteorological and market storms have been known in the past, nerves are frayed. It would not surprise me to see more volatility in both equity and gilt markets. Action: top-slice rising shares and reinvest on dips into deep value.