12th Feb 2026 12:07
(Alliance News) - Brunner Investment Trust PLC on Thursday said the new financial year has started with as much uncertainty as the last year as it said 2025 was "anything but ordinary" and announced a higher dividend.
The investor in global companies for growth and reliable dividends said net asset value climbed 7.3% to 1,543.2 pence each as at November 30 from 1,438.8p a year ago.
NAV total return with debt at fair value was 9.0% in the financial year ended November 30, underperforming against its benchmark, which had a total return of 15.8%. A year prior, Brunner had reported a NAV total return of 17.9%, also trailing its benchmark which had a return of about 23.6% at the time.
The company's benchmark is 70% FTSE World Ex UK Index and 30% FTSE All-Share Index.
Brunner said: "2025 was anything but ordinary. The market rally was extraordinarily narrow, driven in the main by a select group of technology companies. The US market has hit unprecedented levels of concentration, with the most significant returns driven by a handful of high-growth technology stocks. This was driven by a surge of capital into companies seen by the market as best positioned to capitalise on the artificial intelligence investment cycle."
Brunner proposed a final dividend of 6.25p per share, up 3.3% from 6.05p a year prior. This brings the total payout for financial 2025 to 25.0p, up 5.3% from 23.75p.
The firm said: "Beyond the US-China dynamic, the global trade landscape is being reshaped by the rise of new economic powers. In 2025, India surpassed China as the world's most populous country and also overtook Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy. This has significant implications for global supply chains and represents a structural shift in global economic power. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, which the International Rescue Committee has for the third consecutive year named the world's worst, further contributed to a climate of geopolitical uncertainty."
Looking ahead, Chair Carolan Dobson said: "The new financial year has begun with as much uncertainty as the last. Geopolitical tensions remain elevated, with ongoing conflicts and realignments of global powers creating a fragile backdrop. While the two main geopolitical 'events' of the year so far (Venezuela and Iran) are having relatively muted impact on markets thus far, it is the implications of the US actions in Venezuela in terms of potential future actions, not only by the US, but potentially by other emboldened powers that is causing more consternation."
Brunner shares rose 0.4% to 1,476.28 pence each on Thursday around noon in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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