Performance for the month was hurt by a decline in a Global Tobacco holding, which was negatively impacted by the US Food and Drug Administration announcing movements towards further regulation of the tobacco industry. We are continually evaluating the impact of these developments on our investment thesis.

Performance was also negatively impacted by a Platinum holding, which traded down as its convertible bonds began to trade and an Industrial Holding company, which traded down given the rand strength and its likely impact on export orders. This was to some extent offset by gains in a Global Media long, which has continued to trade up following its results release last month, and a holding in a Global Beer company, which performed strongly after releasing results ahead of expectation.

At month end, we held 96.7% of our capital in 27 positions.