The FTSE All-Share Index continued to make further progress with a total return of 0.9% in August, while the FTSE 100 recorded another all-time high when it reached 9300 during the month, before retreating to just below 9200 at the month end. But while the very largest companies in the UK indices have seen great strength in their share prices, with the FTSE 100 rising by 15.6% calendar over the year to date, this has not been matched by the indices of medium- and smaller-sized companies, with the FTSE 250 and FTSE Small-Cap rising by 7.4% and 7.3% respectively over the same period. As an index weighted by the market capitalisation of its constituents, the FTSE All-Share is dominated by the largest companies (for example, just the largest seven companies make up more than one-third of the index). This means its performance is inevitably much more closely aligned to the FTSE 100, and hence its total return of 14.4% for the calendar year to the end of August.
The UK’s headline economic figures continue to be challenging. GDP grew just 0.3% between April and June, which was slower than the previous quarter, while inflation was a little higher than expected. Consumer price inflation (CPI) at 3.8%* remains stubbornly well above the Bank of England’s 2% target.
This mixture of weak growth and strong inflation brought about a split in the Monetary Policy Committee at the central bank’s August meeting, as some members wanted to keep interest rates stable while others wanted to cut. In the end a re-vote was required, which then led to a cut in the Bank Rate from 4.25% to 4.0%.
The single largest detractor from our performance over the month was our investment in Beazley, the specialist insurance underwriter. During the month, the company announced its profit for the first half of the year. This was ahead of analysts’ expectations, but guidance for the rest of the year was interpreted as being negative, leading to a fall of 12.4% in the share price during the month. We remain confident in Beazley’s operations and management, seeing its future prospects as positive and the valuation as attractive.
* Office for National Statistics
As at 31 August 2025
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