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

First results of the New Year are in! BlackRock Income & Growth (BRIG), the quickest of the blocks with an +18.1% NAV return for the year. Chrysalis (CHRY), next with a +4.9% full-year NAV per share increase. Miton UK Microcap’s (MINI) third in, although its latest Half-year Report could well be its last – the Board has decided that the fund is now too small to be viable.

By Frank Buhagiar

BlackRock Income & Growth (BRIG) excited for the year ahead

 BRIG, the first of London’s investment companies to issue results in 2025. And a decent set of full-year numbers it was too: net asset value (NAV) per share came in at +18.1%, comfortably ahead of the FTSE All-Share Index’s +16.3%. The investment managers put the outperformance down to good stock picking, particularly in the financials sector – standout performers included 3i Group, Standard Chartered, NatWest and Intermediate Capital Group.

Despite the strong year, the investment managers see scope for further progress. That’s because “The UK stock market continues to remain depressed in valuation terms relative to other developed markets offering double-digit discounts across a range of valuation metrics.” If that’s not enough, the managers also highlight the market’s 3.7% dividend yield. So, “Whilst we anticipate economic and market volatility will persist throughout the year, we are excited by the opportunities this will likely create; by seeking to identify the companies that strengthen their long-term prospects as well as attractive turnaround situations.” The strong full-year performance wasn’t enough to prevent a 3.8% share price decline on the day of the results though. Mr Market, a demanding master at times.

Winterflood: “Share price TR +13.2%, as discount widened from 8.7% to 12.9%. Managers expect economic and market volatility to persist throughout the year, with potential for attractive ‘turnaround’ opportunities.”

Chrysalis Investments’ (CHRY) year of significant change

CHRY reported a +4.9% increase in NAV per share for the year thanks to higher valuations for some of the portfolio’s biggest holdings, notably Starling and Klarna. Overall performance would have been even stronger but for a write down in the holding of wefox. Much better showing from the shares which were up +50% during the year resulting in the share price discount to net assets shrinking from 54% to 34%.

Not bad given there’s been a lot going on at the growth capital investor. As Chair Andrew Haining notes “The year to 2024 has seen significant change for your Company, both in the way that it is run, and also in market sentiment surrounding its portfolio holdings.” The former refers to a change in investment adviser “I am delighted to say that this process has been seamless” and presumably the launch of the Capital Allocation Policy that is focused on “balancing shareholder returns with long-term growth”. The latter, meanwhile, a nod to “the return of some positivity in the stock market for ‘growth assets’ and thus an improving outlook for similar investments in private markets” as evidenced by recent realisations from the portfolio. The Chair is hoping the improved sentiment will result in “a successful IPO of Klarna this year.” Shares unchanged at the time of writing. Investors adopting the wait-and-see approach.

Liberum: “CHRY comes off a very strong Q4 2024, driven by better sentiment towards growth capital, the Graphcore and Featurespace realisations, a high-impact buyback programme to date, and Klarna moving closer to IPO. Ongoing implementation of the capital return programme and Klarna’s expected IPO in 2025 is the next key catalyst. We are BUYers with a 122p TP, reflecting a 20% discount to our 12M NAV forecast.”

Numis: “CHRY has committed to return an initial £100m to shareholders, with 25% of net profits on realisations returned thereafter. The results include commentary on the direction of the company, with the board highlighting the potential risks of a ‘de-facto wind down’. Therefore, it is considering how to balance future returns of capital beyond the existing capital allocation programme against risk factors such as increased portfolio concentration and reduced scale, which it believes may result in the discount widening again.”

Miton UK Microcap’s (MINI) valedictory results?

MINI’s latest Half-year Report could well be its last. That’s because redemption requests of 40.4% of the company’s issued share capital were received during the most recent annual redemption opportunity. This meant MINI’s market cap has fallen to a very mini-looking £20m. No surprise then that the Board has decided MINI is too small to remain viable and is looking at winding up the fund. As Chairman Ashe Windham writes, “This is my valedictory Chairman’s statement. The Company is now at a size which some investors consider to be too small from a liquidity perspective, particularly given the increasing demand from investors for larger listed funds.” The persistent and material share price discount to net assets was also cited. For the record, adjusted NAV per share fell 7.6% (including dividends re-invested) over the half year. So no going out with a bang then. Shares opened lower on the day too. The market perhaps awaiting more details on the proposed wind-up.

Winterflood: “The fund has received a proposal from Premier Miton regarding a rollover option into one of Premier Miton’s open-ended funds, which the Board is evaluating. It is expected that a cash exit alternative will also be offered. The winding up of the fund will be subject to shareholder approval and further announcements will be made in the coming weeks.”