The unaudited net asset value of Athelney Trust was 305.9p at 31 August 2021.

Fund Manager’s comment for August 2021

Financial markets have continued to improve in spite of a notable decline in the PMI surveys across the globe.  In the UK, this was to be expected after the economy enjoyed supercharged growth in the second quarter of 4.8% over the previous quarter.  The August services PMI dropped to 55.5, the lowest level since February, while the manufacturing PMI eased to 60.1.

After massive declines earlier in the month, Chinese tech stocks recovered a little as their management responded quickly to the regulatory assault by donating billions to community organisations.  Clearly China is becoming a major force in market dynamics.  In recent years it has increased its power in international institutions that oversee global science and technology policies, as well as making a major push to influence international standards for next generation technology.  Its Belt and Road Initiative is nothing more than an attempt to control critical global supply chains, global trade, and data flows and we need to ensure that the companies we invest in are aware of these changes and are responding accordingly.

Increased dividend income from our investments as well as improved valuations during the month contributed to an excellent performance by the portfolio over the month.  This together with operating costs which were well contained, culminated in a 4.47% increase in the NAV for the month.  This followed a similar improvement last month.  By comparison, the AIM All Share Index was up by 3.35%, the Fledging Index up by 2.33% and the Small Cap Index up by 3.64%.  The large caps did not perform quite as well with the FTSE 100 up by 1.24% while the broad market performed the best of all with the FTSE 250 Index up by 5.03%. Overall, the global markets ended the month in positive territory, with the MSCI increasing by 2.35% and the S&P 500 up by 2.90%.

There were no changes to the portfolio holdings during the month as our analysis of company announcements confirms that our expected investment thesis is continuing to play out.  Cash received by way of dividends resulted in a slight increase in the overall cash position which currently represents 3.0% of the portfolio value as at the end of August.