Risk assets continued to perform in September. Although widely anticipated, confirmation of the new asset purchase programmes from both the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and European Central Bank (ECB) spurred optimism among investors.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held rates at a range of 0.00% to 0.25% and announced the launch of QE3. The new programme will see the Fed buy up to $40bn of mortgage-backed securities per month. One of the key differences between this and the first two QE programmes is that the new programme has no end date or final target amount.

LIBOR rates continued to move lower across the curve, particularly at the longer end by around 5 basis points (bps) on average.

The Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) fell to 49 days at the end of September as we rolled maturities between one and three months.

We do not anticipate any change to US interest rates in the near future and expect rates to remain on hold at least through 2013.

Market focus remains on Europe and concerns around global growth. Spain asked for up to €100bn to shore up its banks and a pro-bailout coalition was formed in Greece. Both events have removed some uncertainty from the market.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held rates at a range of 0.00% to 0.25% and extended its Operation Twist programme into December 2012, selling short-term securities and buying longer term debt.

LIBOR rates were broadly unchanged throughout June. As banks reduced their short-term funding needs, market rates have fallen more substantially.

The Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) fell to 50 days at the end of June and we are looking to maintain the WAM at 50-60 days.

Risk assets in general continued to perform throughout March, although the relief effect of the European Central Bank (ECB)'s Long Term Refinancing Operations (LTRO) has now begun to fade. Yields on Spanish and Italian government bonds have again started to rise, prompting fears that the European sovereign debt crisis will soon return to the forefront of the markets. Money markets remained stable with levels generally tightening across the curve.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held rates in a range of 0.00% to 0.25%. Growth forecasts were upgraded and there was talk of a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) in sterilised form.

LIBOR rates continue to move around one to three basis points (bps) lower across the curve. As banks reduce their short-term funding needs, market rates have fallen more substantially.

The Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) was at 38 days at the end of March. We are looking to increase the WAM up to a maximum target of 60 days when suitable opportunities arise.

During March, we added paper from SEB, Swedish Housing Finance, British Telecom and Nederlandse Waterschapsbank.

We expect the US money market curve to remain flat and that the fund will outperform versus the benchmark in the coming months.

The euro sovereign debt crisis continued to cloud markets in December and with added year-end liquidity issues most risk assets were weaker. European leaders agreed a deal to add €200bn to the IMF for propping up Eurozone countries. The news failed to ease pressures felt by peripheral Eurozone countries. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to leave rates unchanged at 0.50% and maintained the size of the asset purchase programme at £275bn. The minutes highlighted that some policymakers believe further stimulus will be required in 2012.

Standard & Poor's placed most of the AAA-rated Eurozone sovereign countries (excluding the UK) on review for downgrade, including Germany and France. Days later they placed a number of European supranationals and banks on review for downgrade.

LIBOR rates again rose by around five basis points (bps) across the curve as funding pressures continue to weigh in the inter-bank system as risk aversion continues.

We allowed the weighted average maturity (WAM) to shorten to 73 days at the end of December as we increased liquidity ahead of possible year-end outflows. Hopefully, we can extend the WAM to a maximum of 90 days in the first quarter of 2012. Maturities were kept in the one- to three-month range ahead of year-end, diversifying away from financials where possible. We added Toyota and Transport for London to the portfolio. Maintaining a high quality liquid portfolio and continuing with a 5% allocation to UK T-bills remains our focus. UK T-bills have benefited from a flight to quality and yields in December were at a record low and have halved from only a few months earlier.

We do not anticipate any change to UK interest rates in the near future and expect rates to remain low into 2012.