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EP Global Opportunities’ Japanese exposure contributed to underperformance in H1

EPG : EP Global Opportunities’ Japanese exposure contributed to underperformance in H1

EP Global Opportunities Trust‘s recent interims confirm its NAV per share fell 0.6% during H1 2014, whilst total returns from the FTSE All-World Index and FTSE All-Share Index were 3.2% and 1.6% respectively. The share price discount to NAV also widened modestly from 1.5 per cent to 3.1 per cent. The main reason identified for EPG’s muted performance is its allocation to Japan, which contributed strongly to performance during 2013. However, the manager continues to see good value in Japanese equities and has continues to add to this exposure (Japanese equities represented 34.4% of total investments at the end of the period). EPG believes broadly that global equities are now at least fairly valued and that some areas, particularly the US where some profits have been taken, are expensive. The portfolios allocation to the US fell from 16.6% to 9.9% during the first half of 2014. EPG has also been adding to a number of more defensive shares with higher yields in both the pharmaceutical and energy sectors.

EPG invests in a portfolio of approximately 30 to 40 securities, predominantly in quoted equities, from issuers throughout the world. EPG is not managed with reference to any stock market index and aims to provide an attractive long term return by investing in undervalued securities.

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