9th Feb 2016 13:01
LONDON (Alliance News) - The Investment Co PLC, which invests primarily in UK equities, on Tuesday said its net asset value fell in the first half of its financial year, amid volatility in equity markets.
The trust's net asset value fell to 377.82 pence from 389.34p over the course of the six months ended December 31, which is a reduction of 3.0% in the half year.
The FTSE All-Share Index fell 3.5%. The market returns on UK Gilts remained "modest", the trust said, with the FTSE Actuaries UK Conventional Gilts All Stocks Index up 0.25% in the half year. Quoted smaller companies' returns were "more resilient" than mainstream stocks, with the FTSE SmallCap (excluding investment trusts) Index down 0.3% and the FTSE AIM All-Share Index 2.2% lower.
All figures were stated in capital gain terms, excluding dividend income over the six month period.
"The company invests in both large and smaller quoted companies, but a key area of difference is the fact that the manager can choose between holding either ordinary equity or the fixed income securities of these businesses. The mix of these assets means that the NAV of the company has been notably less volatile than equity markets over recent quarters," Chairman David Thomson said.
"The potentially lower NAV volatility of the company, together with the attractive level of yield via four dividends annually, is likely to be of increasing interest to investors and drive the future growth of the company," Thomson said.
The trust is managed by Gervais Williams and Martin Turner of Miton Asset Management.
Shares in Investment Company were untraded at 359.90 pence on Tuesday.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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