The emotional benefits of dividend re-investment.
In fact, with this investment strategy you can actually welcome falling share prices.

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.
WB

Thursday 19 December

abrdn Property Income Trust Ltd ex-dividend date
Barings Emerging EMEA Opportunities PLC ex-dividend date
Diverse Income Trust PLC ex-dividend date
International Biotechnology Trust PLC ex-dividend date
International Public Partnerships Ltd dividend payment date
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust PLC ex-dividend date
STS Global Income & Growth Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Templeton Emerging Markets Investments Trust PLC ex-dividend date

iptv brasil
iptvbrasil4k.com.br
Balza35953@gmail.com
46.3.48.37

Howdy are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you require any coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

££££££££££££

The blog uses Word Press/Fast Hosts. The current charge is £7.20p a month although this was discounted for the first six months. The charge for the domain name is around £17.00 per year. No coding knowledge needed. The design is mine, it’s just evolved as I updated.

I do not post on Twitter and have no current plans for a newsletter. Any content can be copied but if it’s from a different source please include their name. I am also unable, at present, to communicate by email. GL

 Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited

Market Summary – November 2024

Interest rate announcements, inflation data and asset valuations

	On 6 November 2024, the Bank of England (“the BoE”) reduced interest rates by 0.25% to 4.75%. On 7 November, the Federal Reserve (“the FED”) also reduced interest rates by 0.25% to 4.75%. The European Central Bank (“the ECB) did not reduce interest rates during November 2024, but did reduce them by 0.25% on 23 October 2024 to 3.25%, and again by a further 0.25% to 3.00% on 12 December 2024. Looking ahead, the Fed is also expected to cut policy rates by a further 0.25% during December 2024. In the UK, the most recent data on CPI inflation shows that it increased to 2.3% during October from 1.7% in September 2024. In the US, CPI inflation rose to 2.7% in November, from 2.6% in October 2024. In the ECB, CPI inflation increased to 2.3% for November 2024, up from 2.0% during October 2024. CPI inflation has risen across all three regions mainly due to continued upward pressure from energy costs.
	The markets generally expect energy costs to trend downwards during the next few months, which could help to reduce CPI inflation across all three regions. In the UK, wholesale gas prices are stabilizing, and the Ofgem energy price cap will reduce costs for households. In the US, energy prices are expected to stabilize or fall due to increased domestic oil and gas production. In Eurozone, high natural gas storage levels and diversified supply chains are reducing the risk of sharp price increases.
	Once a downwards trend toward a lower interest rate environment unfolds, this will be supportive of fixed rate loans and bonds. Further, as short-term rates begin to fall, yield curves will become less inverted or turn positive again, supporting a bid for risk in the market.
	As inflation abates in the long run, the likelihood of future interest rate cuts increases, which makes alternative investments such as infrastructure more attractive when compared to liquid debt. The markets have also priced in at least one further rate cut between now and the end of the year across all three regions.

Two-fund portfolios: The active/passive approach

Experts suggest a minimalist portfolio for when two funds must suffice.

By Matteo Anelli,

Senior reporter, Trustnet

Not every functional portfolio is made up of several funds, and for investors who get a headache thinking of what strategy to buy next, sometimes easier solutions work best.

Building a two-fund portfolio comes with a few caveats, however. A traditional global equity fund might seem like the obvious choice for diversification, but investors need to be careful, as many of these funds are heavily skewed towards the US, said Joe Richardson, discretionary investment manager at Dennehy Wealth.

“Often they have more than 60% of their holdings concentrated in that market, which as we know is dominated by a handful of major tech firms. While these companies have driven strong returns in recent years, such concentrated exposure might undermine the diversification that investors are looking for from a global fund,” he said.

For this reason, he proposed a balanced active/passive portfolio solution.

BNY Mellon Multi-Asset and iShares Value Factor ETF

For the active option, Richardson picked the BNY Mellon Multi-Asset Global Balanced fund, a standout performer in the IA Mixed 40-85% Sector.

Co-managed by Paul Flood, Simon Nichols and FE fundinfo Alpha Manager Bhavin Shah, it gained the maximum FE fundinfo Crown Rating of five and was a top-decile performer over the past 10 and five years against its peer group. It returned 12.4% over the year to date.

The fund also appeared on Trustnet earlier this year for being one of two funds with a perfect 10-year track record, for having ticked just about all the boxes since 2021 and as the best of the best (funds with top long-term performance, a leading manager and the highest Crown Ratings). In September, Flood told Trustnet he has been allocating more money to investment trusts.

“This fund shows strong and, importantly, consistent performance, making it a reliable choice for balanced exposure to global markets,” Richardson said.

He suggested complementing this active fund with a passive option such as the iShares Edge MSCI World Value Factor exchange-traded fund (ETF

Source: FE Analytics

“We believe valuations do matter and there are so many strong companies out there globally trading at discounts and offering a compelling opportunity looking forward – particularly looking at smaller companies, Asia, the UK, Japan,” he said.

“This ETF focuses on undervalued stocks worldwide, and although we might have a short memory because the recent decade has seen growth outperform, historically value stocks have significantly outperformed growth over the long-term.”

Even with the recent value underperformance, this ETF has still delivered strongly – since January 2015, it returned 114.3% against 109.4% for the BNY Mellon fund.

A 50-50 combination of the two (or above 50% for the iShares ETF for those wanting to add more risk) gives investors “diversification away from the US, alignment with valuations and strong historical performance”.

L&G Global Equity and Brookfield Infrastructure

For breadth, there’s no better place to turn than a global index, according to Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at the Wealth Club.

Passive funds are all about accessing a broad portfolio of investments at a low cost, and Legal & General’s Global Equity Index fund, which tracks the FTSE World index with an ongoing charge of 0.08%, is “hard to beat” on value.

He would put 85% of an investible pot in this vehicle.

A global equity index tracker such as this gives investors “a great base exposure to stocks and shares”, he said.

Other asset classes such as bonds, commodities, real estate and private equity deserve a place in a well-diversified portfolio, but for investors that are limited in what they can buy, Hyett believes infrastructure to be the alternative investment. He would allocate the remaining 15% of a portfolio to Canadian-listed Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation.

It provides exposure to a large, diversified infrastructure portfolio overseen by one of the world’s leading infrastructure managers. Investments range from US data centres to Brazilian railways and Indian telecom towers. The portfolio has historically delivered a steadily rising dividend paired with attractive capital growth.

“Infrastructure revenues tend to be inflation-linked, providing some of the inflation protection investors like in real estate or commodities,” he said.

“At the same time, long-dated, contractual and often government-backed revenues mean infrastructure assets can deliver something of the investment ballast you find in bonds.”

For investors who would prefer a fund managed by Brookfield, the Brookfield Global Listed Core Infrastructure fund is part of the Investment Association universe.

Fidelity Index US and Premier Miton US Opportunities

FundCalibre managing director Darius McDermott opted to tap into the strong stock market performance of the US.

Performance of portfolios against index over the year to date

Source: FE Analytics

For this, an index fund is “often a go-to choice and for good reason” – over the past five years, few funds have outperformed the S&P 500.

The Fidelity Index US fund, which which aims to replicate the performance of the S&P 500, is a “solid option” in this category for McDermott.

However, the index has become increasingly concentrated, with its impressive performance heavily reliant on the success of a handful of tech giants.

To balance this concentration risk, he picked the actively managed Premier Miton US Opportunities fund for complementary exposure.

“Despite having no holdings in the S&P 500’s dominant Magnificent Seven, this fund has delivered an impressive annualised return of 13.9% over the past decade, surpassing the S&P 500’s annualised return of 11.4% over the same period,” he said.

Defensives at their most attractive in 15 years

The management team is balancing high growth with attractively valued defensive stocks.

By Matteo Anelli

Senior reporter, Trustnet

Defensive stocks have not looked as attractive as they do today in the past 15 years, according to James Cook, co-manager of the JPM Global Growth and Income trust.

This £1.6bn unconstrained portfolio contains 50 ‘best ideas’ stocks, selected purely for the team’s conviction in their fundamentals, with no bias towards growth, value or other style constraints.

The trust was the winner of a Trustnet ‘fund battle’ against a rival trust this summer and was recently chosen as a good option for a two-fund portfolio; with a 22.5% return over the year to date, it was the second-best performer among the 37 funds for 2024 that experts highlighted on Trustnet last year.

Performance of fund against sector and index over 1yr

Source: FE Analytics

Co-managed by James Cook and FE fundinfo Alpha Managers Helge Skibeli and Timothy Woodhouse, JPM Global Growth and Income has been the best trust in the IT Global Equity Income sector over the past three, five and 10 years, and the second-best over the past 12 months.

Below, Cook explains how he combines exposure to cyclical sectors with cheap defensive stocks, how he is playing the semiconductor and technology arena and the most recent investments.

How would you describe your process?

Strong investment results are best achieved through bottom-up stock selection with minimal exposure to market style or factor risks. We take advantage of the mispricing of stocks to build a portfolio of our 50 best ideas by looking beyond near-term issues and understanding a company’s long-term ‘normalised’ earnings power. This philosophy has been in place for over three decades and has proved successful in both positive, negative, growth and value market environments.

Why should investors pick your trust?

This trust is ideal for investors looking to access some of the highest-quality franchises in the world in a style-agnostic manner. It has a dividend policy of 4%, offering both capital growth through stock selection and an attractive income component.

Why is it important to be style agnostic?

It allows us to focus purely on companies’ fundamentals rather than conforming to a pre-defined style.

Right now, defensive stocks are at their most attractive valuations in 15 years and our defensive tilt is achieved through consumer names such as McDonalds and Yum Brands, and infrastructure-style plays through the US utilities sector, for example the Southern Company.

We are balancing that with high-growth cyclical stocks related to the semiconductor cycle. While companies in this sector have faced high capital intensity as they expand capacity to meet AI [artificial intelligence] demand, we see this normalising, leading to improved free cash flow generation. The combination of pricing power and higher volumes makes these stocks highly attractive for the long term.

Is there an area you’re particularly excited about going into the new year?

Our focus remains on identifying long-term growth opportunities, from the rapid advancement of technologies such as AI and cloud computing to the transition to renewable energy.

We have added exposure to companies providing memory capacity for computers and smartphones. An example is SK Hynix, a Korean-listed market leader in leading-edge memory services.

The transition to renewable energy sources and electric vehicles will provide further impetus to this growing demand for semiconductors and related tech, and we see many attractive structural investment opportunities in this arena. For example, our holdings in the US utilities providers which are leaders in the energy transition and use of renewables, we hold NextEra Energy. It has benefitted from a supportive regulatory environment in the US, but regardless of the policy backdrop, the transition will continue to present opportunities for investors.

What was the best call of the past 12 months?

Beyond the semiconductor and technology sectors, US insurance-based group Progressive has contributed to returns overall throughout the period, having initiated the position at a compelling valuation point.

With concerns around inflation having heightened since 2022, the stock has performed incredibly well against a backdrop of elevated interest rates. As such it became more expensive in our stock selection framework and we fully exited the position earlier in the year, taking profits and allocating them to more attractively valued opportunities. The overall return the stock achieved in the portfolio over the 12 months ending 30 September 2024 was almost 50% appreciation (in sterling terms).

And the worst?

Slowing demand from China for luxury goods has weighed on LVMH this year, which has seen the share price depressed following a period of strong performance. That said, we believe the company remains of incredibly high quality, with an unparalleled portfolio of luxury brands across a range of sectors. We continue to hold the name and have added to it during periods of weakness throughout the year despite it costing us 48 basis points from our excess return. 

I don’t care if my Legal & General shares don’t climb in 2025. I’ve still got that 9%+ yield!

Legal & General shares come with one of the most generous dividends on the entire FTSE 100. Harvey Jones says that will keep him happy even if 2025 proves a struggle.

Posted by

Harvey Jones

When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in.

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services.

If I was the vindictive type, I’d say Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) shares have let me down in 2024. They’ve fallen 6.16% year-to-date. Even the blockbuster 9.14% yield doesn’t wholly compensate for that.

This isn’t a one-off slip either. The share price is down 2.95% over 12 months and 17.22% over five years.

Again, let’s be generous. The UK stock market has had a tough run, fighting off the pandemic, energy shock, cost-of-living crisis and interest rate surge. Most FTSE 100 financials have struggled in that time.

Can this FTSE 100 income stock fly next year?

The insurer and asset manager’s underlying business remains strong with solvency at 223%, but growth is hard to come by. First-half results published on 7 August showed core operating profit edging up from £844m to £849m. CEO António Simões expects that to grow by mid-single-digits year on year

L&G’s return on equity jumped from 28.6% to 35.4%. Unfortunately, profit after tax fell from £377m to £223m which cast a shadow over everything. That didn’t concern me too much though. The board is running a modest £200m share buyback and hiked the interim dividend by 5%. And it’s the income I’m primarily after.

I was cheered by its 4 December update stating that L&G remained on track to deliver its operating profit guidance. Simões also forecast a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of between 6% and 9% in core operating earnings per share from 2024 to 2027. The shares jumped almost 6% on the day in an early Christmas present for me.

So will Legal & General bring me a prosperous New Year ?

To deliver that, it needs lower interest rates. When central bankers start cutting, ultra-high income stocks like this one should enjoy a re-rating.

I’m looking forward to my next L&G dividend

That’s because higher interest rates give income seekers a decent yield from cash and bonds, without putting their capital at risk. When that reverses, more will chase that income from shares instead.

Next year, the L&G yield is forecast to hit a stunning 9.36%. Dividends are never guaranteed, of course. But with the board anticipating Solvency II capital generation of between £5bn and 6bn through to 2027, I’m optimistic.

The 15 analysts offering one-year share price forecasts for L&G have produced a median target of 264.4p. That’s an increase of 13.38% from today. Combined with that yield, that would give me a very welcome total return north of 22%. We’ll see.

It’s far from guaranteed. If interest rates do fall, that could also reverse the surge in annuity sales, as buyers get less income. Plus there’s the obvious risk that when a yield gets this big, it’s on the way to being unsustainable.

But I remain optimistic. If the board can keep hitting its targets, it will be nicely placed when the sector gets that re-rating. If that doesn’t happen in 2025, so be it. I’ll keep reinvesting my dividends to pick up more stock while I wait for events to swing back in its favour. I’m planning to hold this one for years. At some point, it will come good. Until then, I have my income.

2 shares that could help turn a £20K ISA into a £2K+ annual passive income machine© Provided by The Motley Fool

Tae Kim

One of the things I like about owning dividend shares in my ISA is the dividend income I can earn. That can come in handy as a passive income source. But I could also reinvest those dividends (something known as compounding) to try and boost my long-term returns.

By doing that, I reckon I could try and use a £20K ISA to generate £2,000 annually in dividends over the next six years. Here’s how.

Above-average yields from quality companies

Imagine I invest the £20K ISA at an average yield of 7% and reinvest. Ignoring the impact of share price changes (that could work in my favour, or against), a compound annual gain of 7% would mean that after six years, my 7%-yielding ISA should be large enough to generate over £2,000 in dividends annually.

At that point, instead of continuing to compound dividends, I could start taking them out as passive income streams.

7% is well above average for a blue-chip FTSE 100 company. The average FTSE 100 firm currently yields 3.6%.

Still, that is only an average. Some shares offer more including what I see as excellent businesses with strong income generation potential.

Finding shares to buy

Diversification is an important risk management strategy. With a £20K ISA, I would aim to spread my money over five to 10 different shares.

To illustrate the sort of shares I think investors should consider buying, I will zoom in on two.

One of them is Legal & General

Still, no dividend is ever guaranteed. Legal & General cut its payout in the last financial crisis and I see a risk the same could happen the next time markets crash if policyholders get nervous and valuations in the firm’s investment portfolio suddenly fall.

Still, I like the company’s focus on retirement-linked investment products. It is a large market and one I expect to remain that way. Thanks to its focus, industry expertise and iconic umbrella brand, Legal & General looks well-positioned to benefit from it.

Beyond the FTSE 100

As I said, I like to invest in proven, large businesses. But I do also consider smaller and medium-sized companies, including in the FTSE 250 index.

For example, one FTSE 250 share I think income-focussed investors should consider for their ISA is household name ITV (LSE: ITV).

The FTSE 100 company has a track record of raising its annual dividend frequently. It is aiming annual growth in the dividend per share of 2% over the next few years and already yields a juicy 8.9%.

Its current yield of 6.7% is slightly below the target I mentioned above, but as that is an average it could still be hit owning the right mixture of shares yielding over and under 7%.

ITV management aims to maintain the annual dividend per share. But after falling 51% in five years, the ITV share price suggests the City has its doubts.

One risk is an ever-expanding universe of digital competitors pulling away ITV’s traditional audience.

Still, such competition might actually help ITV’s division that leases studio spaces and offers production assistance.

Meanwhile, it is expanding its own digital footprint and continues to operate a significant legacy business.

Watch List

Discount Watch

At 16, the number of investment companies trading at 52-week high discounts to net assets continues to be relatively stable. Most fall into one of three categories: alternatives and UK-focused trusts feeling the effect of elevated bond yields and emerging markets funds worried about what a Trump Presidency means for them. Not all belong to a theme. At least one had its own very specific reason.

By Frank Buhagiar

We estimate there to be 16 investment companies that saw their share prices trade at 52-week high discounts to net assets over the course of the week ended Friday 06 December 2024 – one less than last week’s 17.

In line with previous weeks, the majority of names on the latest Discount Watch loosely fall into three categories. Alternatives are still the dominant group with seven names – four renewables, two property companies and one debt fund – concerns higher bond yields will lead to higher discount rates, which would impact valuations, could be at play here. Emerging markets, such as Vietnam, could be hit hard if Donald Trump goes through with his threat of higher tariffs on imports. And UK-focused funds, a higher-for-longer interest rate narrative following the high spending/high borrowing Budget appears to be weighing on sentiment.

One new name on the list which doesn’t require much digging to explain its appearance – Weiss Korea Opportunity (WKOF). Tuesday 3 December’s surprise announcement by South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, that he was imposing martial law (later rescinded) has triggered a wave of uncertainty across the country. What that means for WKOF’s ongoing strategic review remains to be seen. This was launched after its investment manager, Weiss Asset Management LP, admitted that it believes the “opportunity set and strategy for the fund continuing in its current form is less attractive than it has been in the past” and that “it does not think this change in circumstances is likely to improve in the foreseeable future.” Presumably, the investment managers have not changed their view.

The top five

Fund Discount Sector

HydrogenOne Capital Growth HGEN-78.0%Renewables

Ceiba Investments CBA-74.9%Property

VPC Specialty Lending Investments VSL-50.0%Debt

Aquila Energy Efficiency AEET-46.1%Renewables

Care REIT CRT-31.0%Property

The full list

Fund Discount Sector

Golden Prospect GPM-26.50%Commodities & Nat. Resources

VPC Specialty Lending Investments VSL-50.00% Debt

JPMorgan Global Emerging Markets Inc JEMI-14.40%Emerging Market

Impax Environmental Markets IEM-17.30%Environmental

BlackRock Greater Europe BRGE-8.30%

EuropeWeiss Korea Opportunity WKOF-10.20%Korea

Care REIT CRT-31.00% Property

Ceiba Investments CBA-74.90%Property

Aquila Energy Efficiency AEET-46.10%Renewables

Foresight Solar FSFL-29.40%Renewables

HydrogenOne Capital Growth HGEN-78.00% Renewables

Renewables Infrastructure Group TRIG-26.70% Renewables

Aurora UK Alpha (ARR)-14.20% UK All Companies

Murray Income MUT-13.30%UK Equity Income

BlackRock Smaller Cos BRSC-9.60%UK Smaller Companies

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunities VOF-26.70%Vietnam

The Results Round-Up: The week’s investment trust results

Another bumper round up. Of the 14 funds covered, eight clocked up double-digit returns: Barings Emerging EMEA Opps BEMO, Fidelity China Special Situations FCSS, Polar Capital Technology PCT, GCP Infrastructure Investments GCP, Henderson European HET, TwentyFour Select Monthly Income SMIF, JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income JAGI and JPMorgan Indian JII. But which fund is up +1,884.44% since 1995?

By Frank Buhagiar

Barings Emerging EMEA Opportunities (BEMO), beats benchmark by 8.8%

BEMO had a strong year: +17.3% net asset value (NAV) total return beat the benchmark by +8.8%, making it one of the top performing investment trusts in its sector this year. Chair Frances Daley provided an update on the discount and performance targets that are due to be tested in September 2025. “While the portfolio’s outperformance since 2022 puts the performance target within realistic reach, the Board sees a strong likelihood of the discount management target being missed.” If that’s the case, “the Board will consider the case for a tender offer alongside other strategic options, taking account of the Company’s remaining Russian assets.”

Winterflood: “Emerging Europe (Poland, Greece) was key geographic contributor to relative performance, as was South Africa.”

JPMorgan European Discovery’s (JEDT) looking for ‘hidden gems’

JEDT -0.5% NAV total return for the half year fell short of the benchmark’s +1%. While the investment managers acknowledge that “political uncertainty is escalating”, they don’t sound unduly concerned “we cannot second guess the impact of political events on financial markets. The Company’s investment strategy remains focused instead on identifying Europe’s ‘hidden gems’ – great companies with strong fundamentals that have escaped the attention of most investors.”

Winterflood: “During the year, tender offer executed with 21.2m shares tendered. Interim dividend increased to 3.0p per share (2023: 2.5p).”

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) an ‘attractive way to access the market’

FCSS posted a +16.1% NAV total return for the half year compared to the MSCI China Index’s +24.5% (sterling). Finger of blame pointed at the stimulus measures unleashed by the authorities in September. According to Portfolio Manager Dale Nicholls, this led to money flowing “into sectors that were seen as the direct beneficiaries or had been sold off the most.” Nicholls not going to be distracted though “With so much focus on the macro considerations, it can be easy for investors to forget that what really drives superior returns are great companies executing well in growing industries where they have strong competitive advantages.”

Numis: “we believe that Fidelity China is an attractive way to access the market, should investors be comfortable with the risk profile of a leveraged fund with a focus on mid/small caps in a single Emerging Market.”

Oryx International Growth (OIG) discount narrowing

OIG notched up a +6.5% NAV increase over the half year. According to Chairman Nigel Cayzer, NAV is now up +1,884.44% since inception in 1995, a testament to the investment philosophy “to nimbly invest in companies that have good ideas, strong balance sheets and where necessary, augmented management skills to unlock value and generate exceptional returns.” Would have been a good idea to invest in OIG all those years ago!

Winterflood: “Share price TR +20.2% as discount narrowed from 29.1% to 20.0%.”

Templeton Emerging Markets (TEM) suffered due to volatility

TEM’s +7.2% NAV total return for the half year, almost in line with the benchmark’s +7.5%. The investment managers note “it was not all plain sailing and a bout of volatility marked the period.” Despite this “our investment approach, which is anchored in a bottom-up process to finding companies that our analysis indicates have sustainable earnings power and whose shares trade at a discount relative to their intrinsic worth and to other investment opportunities in the market, has managed to steer the performance of TEMIT.”

Winterflood: “Share price TR +12.0%; 46.2m shares (4.1% of share capital) repurchased for £74.3m, providing +0.6% uplift to NAV.”

JPMorgan China Growth & Income (JCGI) rallied in the second half of the year

JCGI’s focus on quality and growth stocks worked against it over the full year (+3.6% NAV total return compared to the MSCI China Index’s +12.7%) as value stocks drove the market higher. It’s a different story over 10 years: NAV total return of +90.0% easily ahead of the benchmark’s +69.0%.

Winterflood: “Absolute performance was ‘year of two halves’, with NAV TR of -13.1% in H1 (amidst continued concerns over Chinese economy and geopolitics) and +19.3% in H2 (with reduced volatility and government stimulus announcement in September providing significant boost)”.

Polar Capital Technology (PCT), AI maximalists

PCT’s +11.7% NAV per share return for the first half, a little shy of the benchmark’s +14.1% sterling-adjusted return. According to the investment managers, “This largely reflected the remarkable performance of a select group of US mega-cap technology stocks” – PCT is “structurally underweight in mega-caps”. Looking ahead, the managers “remain firmly AI ‘maximalists’. As AI begins to more obviously substitute labour, its addressable market will expand far beyond IT spending alone.”

Numis: “The shares currently trade on a c.12% discount to NAV, broadly in line with its closest peer Allianz Technology, both of which we believe offer value.”

Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) well-positioned

GSF’s -3% NAV total return for the half year brings NAV total return since the 2018 IPO to +42.7%. Updated third-party revenue curves blamed for the value decline during the period, but progress continues to be made on the ground with energised capacity across the portfolio expected to reach over 750 MW by February.

Liberum: “we see its growing US exposure and strong build out in 2024 as positives for the fund. The diversification of geographic markets remains a positive for the GSF portfolio.”

GCP Infrastructure Investments (GCP) recovers lost ground

GCP’s +28.4% total shareholder return for the full year goes some way towards offsetting last year’s -25.2%. The company puts the improved outcome down to “improvements in market factors and the implementation of the capital allocation policy.” NAV total return was up a more sedate +2.2%.

Jefferies: “there is a clear path to repaying the remaining RCF borrowings and potentially further returns of capital beyond the outlined £50m.”

Montanaro European Smaller Companies (MTE) and a new multi-cycle of outperformance

MTE’s +0.7% NAV per share total return for the half year couldn’t match the benchmark’s +1% but over five and 10 years, NAV per share total returns of +55.8% and +243.4% respectively are well above the benchmark’s +17.7% and +94.6%. Chairman R M Curling thinks it’s “too early to say whether the recent underperformance of smaller companies has ended” but “If SmallCap is entering a new, multi-year cycle of outperformance, MESCT stands to benefit” thanks to holding companies that “continue to deliver high returns on equity”.

Winterflood: “Small caps outperformed larger peers in Europe by 2% over the period, while small-cap valuations (12.3x forward P/E) remain at a ‘record’ 13% discount to the wider European market.”

Henderson European’s (HET) ahead of the benchmark

HET had an eventful year. It combined with Henderson EuroTrust, gained promotion to the FTSE 250 and still managed to post a +16.6% NAV per share total return for the year, +1.3% ahead of the benchmark. Both NAV and share price have now outperformed over 1, 3, 5, and 10 years – a full house.

Numis: “Henderson European is differentiated from its peer group with a slight ‘value’ tilt relative to its peers which are more ‘growth’ focussed.”

TwentyFour Select Monthly Income (SMIF), benefits from expertise in credit markets

SMIF’s Chair Ashley Paxton puts the +22.56% NAV total return per share for the year down to “TwentyFour’s expertise in credit markets”. The strong performance meant SMIF was able to issue 18,310,813 new shares “to meet shareholder demand, making the Company one of the most prolific issuers in the investment company sector.”

Numis: “We believe SMIF is an attractive option for income-seeking investors and expect the yield to remain high given exposure to sectors that have benefited from rising rates and continue to offer an attractive return outlook from a diversified portfolio of holdings in less liquid parts of credit markets.”

JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income’s (JAGI) looks to enhanced dividend

JAGI underperformed over the full year (+14.8% NAV total return compared to the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index benchmark’s +17.3%). But this is very much an outlier, for in seven of the last ten calendar years the fund has beaten the benchmark. That’s not the only outlier. Chairman Sir Richard Stagg thinks Asia is an outlier too “The global landscape is unpredictable and uncertain. However, the prospects for Asian economies remain positive – particularly when compared to the relatively lacklustre growth projections of developed markets.”

Winterflood: “The Board is recommending an increase in the fund’s enhanced dividend from 1.0% to 1.5% per quarter in order to differentiate JAGI further from its peers and lead to additional demand for its shares.”

JPMorgan Indian (JII) up nearly a fifth

JII clocked up an impressive +18.1% NAV total return for the year. The MSCI India Index posted an even more impressive +27.7%. Chairman Jeremy Whitley notes “Nearly all of this underperformance occurred in the first half of the financial year, and is mainly attributable to the Portfolio Managers’ bias towards higher quality corporate names, at a time when lower quality sectors of the market did well.”

Numis: “we believe there is limited downside given share buybacks and a performance triggered tender for 25% of share capital at NAV less costs.”