IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities | Fund Update | July 2026

July: UK strength as FTSE hits record highs

The UK market enjoyed a fourth consecutive month of gains, proving remarkably resilient in the face of a brittle peace deal between the US and Iran that has seen a series of air strikes and the oil price again touching $100 before falling back to around $80.

Andy Burnham took over as Prime Minister from Keir Starmer and will now spend the summer setting out his plans to increase growth and confidence in the UK economy. Thus far, the market has proved relatively sanguine in relation to the anticipated further tax rises in the Autumn budget. Part of the UK strength has been as a result of it being a safe haven from the semiconductor and AI volatility affecting the US and a number of Asian markets such as South Korea. The UK market only has modest exposure to this area, which we view as a positive given the high valuations and concerns over the huge amounts being spent on AI which no one can be certain is justified. That is not to say our Fund has not benefited in any way from the boom. Raspberry PI and IQE, both chip manufacturers, performed very strongly but we no longer hold either on valuation grounds, and so far, our decision to sell is the correct one.

It proved a busy month for equity fund raises with Avingtrans, Supermarket Income REIT and Likewise being added to the portfolio. We also increased the holding in Hammerson.

In July the IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities fund returned 3.14% compared with 3.69% for the FTSE All Share and 4.00% for the IA UK All Companies sector, all on a total return basis.

Purchases

Avingtrans is an engineering company that designs and manufactures equipment for the energy, medical and industrial sectors. We participated in a £21m fund raise in which the proceeds will be used to expand its US nuclear manufacturing capacity. Given the attractive end markets, we consider the growth profile of the Company to be exceptionally strong. The shares have already appreciated more than 10% from the placing price.

Supermarket Income REIT owns supermarket sites that it lets to the high-grade supermarket operators. We acquired the shares as part of a £100m equity fund raise to fund the acquisition of a further nine sites. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 and offers an attractive 7% dividend yield.

Likewise, is a UK distributor of floor coverings such as carpets, vinyl and laminate. We acquired the shares as part of a £30m equity raise to fund the acquisition of a new distribution centre. We consider the management team to be particularly impressive in a company that is growing strongly in a difficult economic environment.

Sales

We sold the holding in underperformer ME Group following a partial recovery from a recent profit warning. Bridgepoint was also sold on strength but has proved a disappointing long-term performer since IPO. We took profits in Coats Group following a well received trading update. We trimmed retailers Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer on strength.

Cumulative Performance (Total Return %) – To 31 July 2026

Fund/Benchmark Name	3M	6M	1Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	Since Inception (28/05/1997)
IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities P Acc	7.3	8.2	19.4	46.9	30.4	112.6	686.8
Quartile Ranking IA UK All Companies	2	2	2	2	3	2	2
IA UK All Companies	7.1	6.5	14.6	39.9	37.6	94.5	471.2
FTSE All Share	5.6	7.9	21.6	54.7	73.2	129.1	596.9

Source: FE: 31/07/2026

Discrete Annual Performance (Total Return%) – To 31 July 2026

Fund/Benchmark Name	Year to 31/07/2026	Year to 31/07/2025	Year to 31/07/2024	Year to 31/07/2023	Year to 31/07/2022
IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities P Acc	19.5	9.4	12.4	-1.2	-10.2
Quartile Ranking IA UK All Companies	2	2	3	4	4
IA UK All Companies	14.6	7.3	13.8	3.0	-4.5
FTSE All Share	21.6	12.1	13.5	6.1	5.5

Source: FE: 31/07/2026

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.