The All Share Index ended the quarter on a positive note, up 0.25% for the month and up 13.9% for the third quarter. Foreigners were net purchasers of SA equities for the second quarter in a row, R24.8bn ($3.2bn) for 3Q09 after 2Q09's R19.4bn ($2.5bn).

Mid- and Small Cap shares continued to lead the positive performance, outperforming the -0.2% monthly total return of the resource heavy Top40 with returns of 2.80% and 1.70% respectively. For the third quarter, Personal Goods (+31.9%), Industrial Transportation (+28.8%) and Media (+25.8%) were the top performing sectors. Coal Mining (-25.1%), Mobile Telecommunications (+3.1%) and Oil & Gas Producers (+4.6%) were the laggards.

The Fund delivered a total return of 1.54% versus the ALSI's 0.25%. The overweights in Industrials and Consumer Services benefitted the portfolio returns, while the underweights in Gold Mining and Pharmaceuticals pulled the overall return back towards the benchmark.

The All Share Index lost 3.06% on a total return basis for June, but remains in positive territory year-to-date (4.09%). Bonds have slipped further and are now down 4.2% for the year. Foreigners were net purchasers of local equities to the value of R11.3 billion.Mid Cap shares continued their strong run, up 1.01% for the month and is the only sector that is positive over a 12 month period; up 10.60% versus -28.60% for the Top40 and -7.00% for Small Caps. Financials (+1.81%) and Industrials (+0.65%) muted the drag of the -8.97% return of the Resources sector.The Fund delivered a negative total return of 1.66% but outperformed the ALSI by 1.40% in June. Gold showed its volatility again this month (-17.23%) and the active zero weighting to the gold sector assisted in the portfolio's outperformance. The overweight position in Banks added to this month's outperformance.

The All Share followed international markets sharply higher, ending 11.0% up on a total return basis, in spite of a 5.0% sell-off in the last week of March. Despite the March rally, equities are still down 4.2% for the year.

Foreigners were net purchasers of local equities to the tune of $1.6billion, or R15.1billion, which is the highest since February 2006. It should be noted, however, that $1.28billion was attributable to the Paulson & Co. purchase of 11.3% in Anglogold.

The Fund underperformed the ALSI in January with a total return of 9.98% versus 11.02%. The holding in non-indexed BAT was the primary contributor to the 1.04% underperformance. The relative positions in the other sectors largely netted off each other.

The Core Equity Fund underperformed the ALSI slightly in December with a return of 0.64% VS 1.5%. This marked the end of a particular difficult year with the JSE All Share index declining by -23.2% in line with the MSCI world index declining by 18.1% and emerging equities declining by 35.8% in rand terms respectfully. Only two sectors ended the year in positive territory - Food and Drug Retailers and Food Producers, both living up to reputation for having defensive qualities. We managed to steer clear of the worst performing sectors being Automobiles and Parts, Life Assurance and Industrial Engineering and therefore managed to beat the index over the past year despite showing a negative return of - 21.07%. We expect 2009 to be a better year for equities but the road is bound to be rocky and the market will not move up in a straight line.