The addition of Accent Group to our Montgomery Small Companies Fund portfolio reflects the opportunity apparent from a domestic reopening right before Christmas. Our confidence surrounding a recovery has grown somewhat as we witness an impressive acceleration in both first dose and second dose vaccinations, particularly in the most populous states of New South Wales and Victoria.
Given the sell-off in bond yields so far this year, rising inflationary expectations, and the collapse of the Evergrande Group in China, it is unsurprising many global share market indices took a breather and recorded a lacklustre September 2021 quarter in terms of performance. Of the major markets, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index was down 14.