Yet again, the Athelney Trust unaudited NAV fell in September, this time by 1.2% as compared to the Small Cap Index which declined by only 0.4% and the FTSE which increased by 1.05% as investors moved into larger cap names. This was despite ongoing concerns over a hard Brexit and the implications of a tariff trade war between the US and China. Globally the developed markets outperformed during September. Higher Oil prices helped stimulate the Global Energy sector with the S&P 500 up 0.43% to a new record high.

However, technology related names were hard hit during September with the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.78% during the month. European markets were also generally stronger in local currency terms. Asian markets were reasonably strong with the Shanghai Composite up 3.53% in local currency terms, responding to increased stimulus by the Chinese Government which was attempting to pump prime domestic consumption including increased spending on public services. The Nikkei was up 5.49% and was one of the best performing markets in the region during September.