Richard Plackett, manager of the BlackRock Special Situations fund, comments on performance over the last quarter:
"BlackRock Special Situations fund returned 9.4% over the first quarter of 2012, outperforming its benchmark, the Morningstar UT UK All Companies Sector which returned 9.0%. The FTSE All Share returned 5.7% over the same period.
"The largest contributors to returns came from our positions in cyclical growth stocks: Spectris announced continued strong trading; Spirent Communication reported full year results which were better than expected; and Renishaw gave a confident outlook at its interim results. Oxford Instruments reported strong performance as it continues to move into new geographies and make acquisitions. Aegis Group announced that full year profits had risen predominantly due to strong growth from faster growing regions and North America. The company also released an optimistic statement about the outlook for the advertising industry in 2012.
"Elsewhere, other global growth stocks, Victrex, Spirax-Sarco, Senior and Aveva, continue to add the Fund's returns. Over the quarter, the largest detractor to returns came from the position in Abcam, which fell on concerns over US healthcare research budgets, despite the company releasing a good trading update.
"Our concerns over the macro environment have receded somewhat over recent months as data from the USA and developing world suggests that economic weakness is currently largely confined to Europe. Volatility is likely to remain high given the continuing issues in the Eurozone, but equity valuations look attractive relative to other assets. We will continue to maintain our focus on high quality, international companies with an emphasis on strong balance sheets to ensure companies can withstand any further period of global economic weakness arising from the issues in the Eurozone."
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