Marketing material for professional investors and advisers only Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund Quarterly Fund Update First Quarter 2018 Cumulative returns to 31 March 2018 (%) Z accumulation shares 80 60 40 20 0-20 3 months 1 year 3 years 5 years Portfolio Index Schroder UK Mid 250 FTSE 250 (ex IT) TR 3 mths 1 yr 3 yrs 5 yrs -3.9 12.5 22.6 59.4-5.8 5.6 22.6 60.2 Discrete yearly performance (%) Fund Benchmark 2017 23.7 18.2 2016 2.0 5.1 2015 6.4 12.0 2014-1.0 2.8 2013 43.2 34.9 Source: Schroders, net of fees, bid to bid, with net income reinvested. Z Acc share class as at 31 December 2017. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Summary The fund outperformed its benchmark over the quarter. Our top contributors included international veterinary products business Dechra Pharmaceuticals, globally diversified doorstep lender International Personal Finance and financial infrastructure specialist NEX Group. We established a new position in leading UK homewares specialist Dunelm, temporary power specialist Aggreko and generic drugs group Hikma Pharmaceuticals. We exited our holdings in manufacturer of health and safety devices Halma and Royal Mail following their promotion to the FTSE 100. Should sterling hold onto its gains there might be some light at the end of the tunnel for the UK consumer, which has had to contend with a foreign-exchange driven inflation spike. The outlook for the corporate sector seems less clear, and investors may wish to focus on the companies which have the power to pass on rising costs by increasing prices to end customers, without impacting volumes. Portfolio characteristics Fund manager Andy Brough Managed fund since 19/11/1999 Fund launch date 19/11/1999 Fund benchmark Fund size Ongoing charge 0.91% 1 FTSE 250 (ex IT) TR 1,153 million Source: Schroders, as at 31 March 2018. 1 Based on the last year s expenses for the year ending December 2017. Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund First Quarter 2018 1
What happened in the market UK equities performed poorly over the period as gilt yields rose in line with a broad-based sell-off in global bonds. Bond market yields rose amid signs that the world economy is moving from the recovery to expansion phase of the economic cycle, with a consequent increase in inflationary pressures and tighter monetary policy. As bond yields rose there was a rotation away from more stable and defensive areas of the market where valuations generally remain full. Sterling continued to strengthen on the back of building UK interest rate expectations and further progress with Brexit negotiations. In its latest quarterly inflation report the Bank of England nudged up its forecast for UK GDP growth in 2018 from 1.7% to 1.8% as the UK economy continued to confound low expectations. Sentiment towards UK equites struck new lows in the period as global asset allocators shunned the market amid ongoing political uncertainty and a weak outlook for domestic growth. Despite this, the trend for inbound merger and acquisition activity remained in train with a number of UK quoted companies becoming the subject of fresh bids from overseas trade buyers. Performance attribution (%) Allocation effect Selection effect Sector Total effect -0.1 0.9 Consumer Goods 0.8 0.0 0.6 Financials 0.0 0.5 Health Care 0.5 0.6-0.5 0.8 Telecommunications 0.0 0.2 Basic Materials 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.2 Oil & Gas 0.1 0.0 Utilities 0.1 0.1 0.1-0.1 Industrials -0.1-0.2 0.0 Technology -0.2 0.0-0.4 Consumer Services -0.4 Source: FactSet, average positions over the quarter by ICB Industry. International veterinary products business Dechra Pharmaceuticals was our top contributor following robust interim results and a well-received European acquisition. Globally diversified doorstep lender International Personal Finance enjoyed a share price recovery on the back of reassuring full-year results. The results underlined solid growth in the group s southern European markets (Hungary and Romania) and digital lending business. This offset challenging trading conditions in the northern European markets (Poland and the Czech Republic), where competitive and regulatory pressures are ongoing. Financial infrastructure specialist NEX Group was another top-performing holding following a robust third-quarter trading update and recommended bid approach from US-listed derivative exchange operator CME Group. The company s cautiously optimistic outlook for the current financial year was taken well by the market, as was news that the transformation programme is on track to deliver annualised cost savings of 40 million over the next three years. As a consequence of the bid we have reduced our holding, although retain a position given the potential for a counter offer in light of NEX s portfolio of unique and strategically attractive financial market infrastructure assets. e-commerce and direct mail operator and schools equipment supplier Findel extended its recent share price recovery on the back of a reassuring full-year trading update. The Express Gifts business in on course to deliver solid underlying growth this year as the management-led turnaround gains traction. Globally diversified derivatives platform provider CMC also bounced back in response to a reassuring fullyear trading update. The shares have performed poorly over the past 18 months amid rising fears over European-wide financial regulations to curtail the use of leveraged products by retail investors. The market, however, has begun to realise that the larger more Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund First Quarter 2018 2
established companies in the sector will potentially benefit as smaller less-well invested competitors struggle most with the new regulatory backdrop. CMC has responded to the changing regulatory landscape by focusing on experienced customers, so investors welcomed news in the update that the proportion of high value clients has significantly increased. On the negative side, not owning events and media business UBM and shopping centre owner Hammerson detracted from performance after they attracted bids. UBM recommended a bid from peer Informa while Hammerson rejected an offer from French peer Klépierre. Support services group Capita fell sharply following a profit warning. While the company revealed that trading for 2017 was in line with expectations, the new CEO guided profit forecasts down for 2018. Market sentiment was further negatively impacted by a decision to suspend dividends and conduct a rights issue in order to further strengthen the balance sheet. Management also announced a transformation programme, aiming to materially improve performance over the medium term by significantly simplifying the business, reducing costs and investing in their core software offering. In our opinion, further strengthening the balance sheet and investing in the business is the correct course of action, creating a solid platform for this multi-year turnaround. Following the period end a number of key clients have renewed contracts (including the BBC and Volkswagen) underscoring their confidence in Capita s outsourcing model. The market has also welcomed further details on the transformation programme, the circa 701 million rights issue (sufficiently large to restore confidence in the balance sheet) and confirmation of 2018 profit guidance. Specialist annuity provider Just Group also performed poorly, driven by technical factors after two private equity holders consecutively placed stock at a discount to the market price. Top stock contributors (%) Top stock detractors (%) Stock contributor Relative weight Total return Stock contributor Relative weight Total return Dechra Pharma +2.1 +25.7 UBM -1.0 +25.6 Int Per Fin +2.4 +16.2 Capita +0.3-64.1 NEX Group +0.7 +61.7 Man Group +2.0-17.0 Findel +1.9 +8.7 Hammerson -0.2 +22.8 Grainger +4.5-0.2 Ocado -0.7 +33.7 Source: FactSet, average positions over the quarter. Portfolio positioning as at 31 March 2018 (%) Sector Relative weighting (%) Telecommunications 3.7 Consumer Goods Basic Materials Healthcare Oil & Gas 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 Consumer Services Utilities Financials -1.5-1.2-0.9 Technology -2.1 Source: FactSet. Industrials -4.5 Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund First Quarter 2018 3
Key portfolio activity We used share price weakness to establish a new position in leading UK homewares specialist Dunelm which we expect will continue to take market share with its compelling multi-channel offering. The company is well placed to deliver on an ambitious medium-term growth target to double sales to 2 billion, driven by online sales growth (where Dunelm has been focusing new investment) and a highly selective expansion of its physical store estate. Prior to taking our holding the shares had performed very poorly amid ongoing weak sentiment towards UK consumer-focused sectors and following partially disappointing half-year results. While the interims revealed robust underlying growth in the core business, sales from the recently acquired Worldstores businesses were disappointing, which, in combination with higher-than-expected group operating costs meant Dunelm s half-year profits missed market expectations. Key stock positions (%) Overweights Sector Relative weight Grainger Financials +4.7 Telecom Plus Telecoms +3.0 Sports Direct Con Serv +2.9 Bovis Homes Con Goods +2.9 James Fisher Industrials +2.9 Source: FactSet as at 31 March 2018. Subsequent to the period end the company announced a reassuring third-quarter trading update, prompting the shares to bounce back. The update revealed that underlying sales growth had remained robust (and triggered talk of a possible slight improvement in market conditions) and that management expected to meet the recently downwardly revised full-year guidance. We further increased our exposure to the oil and gas sector, adding to our holdings in exploration and production business Cairn Energy, oil and gas equipment company Petrofac and initiating a new position in temporary power specialist Aggreko, which has exposure to the sector. We also initiated a position in another one-time FTSE 100 constituent, the generic drugs group Hikma Pharmaceuticals, which, like Aggreko, is set to benefit from management changes. We exited our holdings in manufacturer of health and safety devices Halma and Royal Mail following their promotion to the FTSE 100. Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund First Quarter 2018 4
Outlook and strategy If sentiment towards UK equities has continued to plumb new depths, the same can t be said of the currency which has staged a recovery since the autumn of 2017. Sterling has rebounded against a backdrop of better-than-expected macroeconomic data, the decision by the Bank of England in November to reverse its 25 basis point postreferendum rate cut, and progress with Brexit negotiations. Should sterling hold onto its gains there might be some light at the end of the tunnel for the UK consumer, which has had to contend with a foreignexchange driven inflation spike. It may be that this spike peaked at the end of last year and, against the backdrop of a buoyant jobs market (and more recently some signs that wages are picking up) the rate of generalised price increases in the economy may begin to more closely resemble wage inflation during 2018. Indeed, just-released earnings data for February from the Office for National Statistics show that real wages have turned positive again. Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund: Risk factors Funds that invest solely in the companies of one country or region can carry more risk than funds spread over a number of countries or regions. The fund can be exposed to different currencies. Changes in foreign exchange rates could create losses. Equity prices fluctuate daily, based on many factors including general, economic, industry or company news. Investments in smaller companies can be less liquid than investments in larger companies and price swings may therefore be greater than in larger company funds. In difficult market conditions, the fund may not be able to sell a security for full value or at all. This could affect performance and could cause the fund to defer or suspend redemptions of its shares. Failures at service providers could lead to disruptions of fund operations or losses. Some consumer micro markets are showing a marked improvement in revenue and margin trends, and the recent surprisingly positive statement from sofa retailer DFS Furniture, for example, may be testament to this. The chief executive officer of FTSE 100 retailer Next, Simon Wolfson, has also given the impression of pressures easing in the consumer market. The outlook for the corporate sector seems less clear, and investors may wish to focus on the companies which have the power to pass on rising costs by increasing prices to end customers, without impacting volumes. It would be sensible to also avoid those with too much debt. If some of these very challenged companies do surpass lowly expectations, the rewards could be great, but so too could the risks of failure, as underlined by some pretty cataclysmic share price performances. Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund First Quarter 2018 5
Important Information: This material is not suitable for retail clients. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Andy Brough has expressed his own views and these may change. The data contained in this document has been sourced by Schroders and should be independently verified before further publication or use. This document is intended to be for information purposes only and it is not intended as promotional material in any respect. The material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. The material is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, accounting, legal or tax advice, or investment recommendations. Information herein is believed to be reliable but Schroder Unit Trusts Limited (Schroders) does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. No responsibility can be accepted for error of fact or opinion. Reliance should not be placed on the views and information in the document when taking individual investment and/or strategic decisions. Issued by Schroder Unit Trusts Limited, 31 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QA. Registered No: 4191730 England. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund First Quarter 2018 6