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Newton Real Return delivers

FUND PROFILE: Newton Real Return has delivered real returns in all market conditions
June 21, 2011

Newton Real Return is one of the few funds that can claim to have delivered on its mandate to make absolute (more than zero) returns. It has achieved a positive return every year over the past six years, including during the financial crisis in 2007 and 2008. Many other absolute-return funds have .

Such outperformance has helped the fund to achieve strong long-term cumulative returns, placing it in the top five absolute-return funds over three and five years. The fund aims to preserve capital in all conditions.

Newton Real Return is benchmarked against cash and seeks long-term equity-type returns but with lower volatility than equities. Over the past five years, its volatility has been 9.33 per cent against 17.33 per cent for global equities.

This multi-asset fund has no maximum or minimum exposure to single asset classes, although has a 20 per cent limit on regional and sector allocations. The fund's asset allocation varies significantly and in difficult market conditions it could allocate 50 per cent of its assets to cash.

The fund seeks investments and controls risks via stock selection, global diversification and the use of simple derivatives such as index puts and collars.

The fund's manager, Iain Stewart, draws on Newton's in-house analysts to identify stock valuation anomalies and verify overall portfolio risk. He uses the company's macroeconomic strategy group to develop themes on the basis of trends rather than economic outlooks, and seeks assets that will benefit from these trends. Mr Stewart has managed multi-asset mandates at Newton since 1985.

NEWTON REAL RETURN A (0164263)

PRICE119pSHARPE RATIO0.63*
SIZE OF FUND£3.9bn*1 YR PERFORMANCE12.04%*
HOLDINGS1203 YR PERFORMANCE28.19%*
SET-UP DATE27-Oct-005 YR PERFORMANCE54.44%*
MANAGER START DATE01-Oct-04TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO1.62%
TURNOVER42%*YIELD3.79%
MEAN RETURN8.88%MINIMUM INVESTMENT£1,000
STANDARD DEVIATION10.83*MORE DETAILSwww.bnymellon.com

Source: Morningstar, *BNY Mellon Asset Management.

Performance data as at 21 June 2011.

Top 10 holdings as at 31 May 2011.

HoldingPercentage
GlaxoSmithKline3.90%
Bayer2.90%
Norway 4.5% Bds 22//05/20192.50%
Newcrest Mining2.40%
Riche Holdings Genusscheine2.30%
Yamana Gold2.10%
Reynolds American2.00%
Barrick Gold 1.90%
RWC Global Convertibles Fd B GBP1.90%
Novartis1.90%

Asset allocation

AssetPercentage
Equities60.40%
Bonds21.00%
Cash15.30%
Other3.30%