IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities | Fund Update |March 2026
March: Market sells off over Middle East Conflict
Global markets tumbled and the UK gave back nearly all its gains in 2026. Markets do not like uncertainty and an escalating war in the Middle East, which is so vital to the production and supply of oil and gas, provided ample opportunity for investors to flee to the safety of so-called haven assets. Except, bond and gilt prices fell, and yields moved higher on the inflationary impact of higher energy prices (oil traded at over $100 a barrel) and the potential that central banks may look to raise interest rates to combat inflation. The Bank of England had been expected to cut interest rates in March, but understandably, given the uncertainty, maintained the current level of 3.75%. We consider the chance of an interest rate rise as limited, as whilst higher energy prices will increase inflation, they are also demand destructive and so reduce economic growth. Markets proved volatile and gyrated to the fast-moving headlines but the sell-off, thus far, has proved orderly with no real signs of panic as most investors kept fresh capital on the side lines, awaiting greater clarity. March ended with the UK market rebounding from lows amidst hopes of an end to hostilities, and pleasingly still showing a gain in the first quarter of the year.
At times of market stress as we have experienced in March, it is not unusual for the level of primary opportunities to slow as investors await greater clarity before committing fresh capital to market fund raises and does allow us to go into the secondary market to buy and add to holdings where we view the falls as being indiscriminate and unjust. Nevertheless, we participated in primary opportunities in Vulcan Two, Rosebank Industries and Harbour Energy whilst adding mega cap Rolls Royce to the portfolio. We also took advantage of the market volatility to increase our holdings in Barclays, Prudential, M&G and both British Land and Land Securities. We would expect all to be beneficiaries of a market recovery.
In March the IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities fund returned -6.4% compared with -6.7% for the FTSE All Share and -8.0% for the IA UK All Companies sector, all on a total return basis.
Purchases
Vulcan Two Group is focused on acquiring and consolidating businesses in the regulated ePharmacy sector, an extremely fast-growing part of the market. It is focused on the private prescription market and aims to become the leading online prescription provider. We acquired the shares at a discount to the prevailing market price as part of a £40m fund raise.
Rosebank Industries’ objective is to re-create the successful ‘Buy, Improve, Sell’ business model that the Co-Founders successfully implemented during their time at Melrose. We added to our holding as part of a £1.9bn equity raise to fund the purchase of two industrial businesses in the US. The company has recently announced its intention to move from the AIM market to the main market and with a market capitalisation of over £3bn, will be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE 250.
Rolls-Royce is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aircraft engines and a major defence contractor and provider of power systems. Its turnaround, led by CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç, has been remarkable since the company’s nadir during COVID. We used the sharp market setback to add the company to the portfolio with the belief that as and when hostilities settle, the Company will be well placed to continue its growth trajectory. With a market capitalisation of £100bn, it is one of the largest companies on the UK market.
Harbour Energy is an independent oil & gas company focused on assets in the UK North Sea, Norway, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, and Southeast Asia. In a very unusual move, we both purchased and sold the shares within the month. We acquired the shares as part of a placing at a 10% discount by one of the major shareholders. We were attracted both by the discount and the company’s limited exposure to assets in the Middle East. The shares responded strongly to the fast-moving political situation and rampant oil price and given the immediacy of the gains; we viewed the shares with a near 15% gain on our purchase price as overbought. A highly unusual situation but we saw the opportunity to benefit from the size of the placing discount and then as sentiment took over, we were content to take profits.
Sales
We Trimmed our exposure to oil by reducing the holding in BP on significant strength following the marked increase in the oil price. The holding in ITV was also reduced on relative on relative strength whilst we exited our holdings in Twenty Four Income Ltd and JTC, which held their share prices in the turmoil, to fund the purchases. The cash position was maintained at around 5% during the month.
Cumulative Performance (Total Return %) – To 31 March 2026
| Fund/Benchmark Name | 3M | 6M | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Since Inception (28/05/1997) |
| IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities P Acc | 0.7 | 6.1 | 17.0 | 33.4 | 24.6 | 102.8 | 609.0 |
| Quartile Ranking IA UK All Companies | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| IA UK All Companies | -1.9 | 2.0 | 13.0 | 27.8 | 32.1 | 83.5 | 412.8 |
| FTSE All Share | 2.4 | 9.0 | 21.5 | 45.6 | 69.3 | 129.8 | 542.0 |
Source: FE: 31/03/2026
Discrete Annual Performance (Total Return%) – To 31 March 2026
| Fund/Benchmark Name | Year to 31/03/2026 | Year to 31/03/2025 | Year to 31/03/2024 | Year to 31/03/2023 | Year to 31/03/2022 |
| IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities P Acc | 17.0 | 8.6 | 5.0 | -10.0 | 3.7 |
| Quartile Ranking IA UK All Companies | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| IA UK All Companies | 13.0 | 5.1 | 7.7 | -1.9 | 5.4 |
| FTSE All Share | 21.5 | 10.5 | 8.4 | 2.9 | 13.0 |
Source: FE: 31/03/2026
Please be advised that the past is not necessarily a guide to future performance. Investments and the income derived from them can fall as well as rise and the investor may not get back the amount originally invested.
