AFTER the fillip from sterling's effective devaluation in 1992,

American Trust's results have now settled into a more predictable

pattern with net asset value dipping 6.2% in the six months to end-July.

The fall in nav from a record 308.8p to 288.4p over the period

compared with a fall of 7.2% in sterling terms in the benchmark Standard

& Poors composite index.

The pound's departure from Europe's exchange rate two years ago

sharply pushed up the value of dollar-denominated income and shares to

UK investors and American benefited more than most.

One of Edinburgh Fund Managers' investment trusts, it focuses about

three-quarters of its #250m portfolio in the US, with most of the rest

spread around UK equities.

''American shares have been pretty unexciting over the past six months

and given the current anxieties over interest rates, inflation, and so,

on we are not particularly confident about the short-term,'' said EFM's

Michael Balfour.

However, prospects for a stronger dollar are increasing and, in the

light of little immediate chance of a sustained lift on Wall Street, the

trust is looking to increase its exposure to basic industries in the US.

''Big American companies have become very competitive in the past few

years and we see such sectors as capital goods holding out healthy

longer-term prospects,'' Mr Balfour added.

Net asset values should be boosted by the stronger dollar while

income, the other arm of the trust, can expect support from continuing

strong profit figures.

The interim dividend rose from 1.8p to 1.9p on earnings per share up

13.1% to 3.28p. But the managers cautioned that earnings are unlikely to

match this over the full year as some of the short-term gains have been

reinvested in longer-term positions.