1st Aug 2025 10:05
(Alliance News) - Alliance Witan PLC lagged its benchmark in the first half of the year, the investment firm said on Friday, but it is "positive" about its prospects going forward.
Alliance Witan, which has investments in stocks such as Microsoft Corp, Nvidia Corp, Diageo PLC and Unilever PLC, labelled the first six months of the year a "hectic" one for global markets.
"President [Donald] Trump's on-off tariffs and conflict in the Middle East caused considerable uncertainty and sharp swings in equity markets, [but] your company's investment performance has remained resilient," Alliance Witan Chair Dean Buckley told shareholders.
Net asset value per share at the June 30 half-year points was 1,281.9 pence, down 1.8% from 1,304.9p at the end of December.
Alliance Witan shares were down 1.4% to 1,262.05p each in London on Friday morning.
NAV total return was negative 0.7%, shy of the MSCI All Country World Index which returned 0.6%.
"There were some notable shifts in the sources of return in the first half of the year, with US growth stocks losing their market leadership in the first quarter to better value opportunities in Europe and the UK, only for some to recover in the second quarter and deliver strong returns over the full six months as tariffs proved less draconian than feared," Alliance Witan said.
"It is somewhat encouraging to see a broadening out of returns from equity markets, even if only within the first quarter, compared with the highly concentrated drivers of recent years. However, share prices in the first half of this year reacted to rolling news from Washington and abrupt shifts in sentiment rather than corporate fundamentals."
The firm said it is "positive about the prospects for performance from here".
Alliance Witan announced a second interim dividend of 7.08 pence per share, up from 6.62p a year prior. Its first two payouts of the year amount to 14.16p, rising 6.9% from 13.24p.
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it is anticipated that the company's third and fourth interim dividends will be at least equal to the first and second interim dividends," the company said.
That would give a total dividend of "at least" 28.32p per share, a 6.1% increase over 2024.
"With the returns from equities broadening out and if geopolitical tensions continue to ease, we look forward to markets behaving more rationally. But there are still many risks ahead, including slowing growth in the US, the possibility of tariffs feeding through to higher inflation and further policy surprises from the White House. With events moving so quickly and unpredictably, we believe that this reinforces the need to keep gearing mostly unchanged, to invest broadly and to focus on high-conviction stock picking to add value," Alliance Witan said.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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