11th Jan 2019 14:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Jupiter Emerging & Frontier Income Trust PLC said on Friday it underperformed against its comparative benchmark in its recently ended financial year, as a result of geopolitical tensions.
For the year to the end of September, the investment trust's net asset value total return was 2.3%, lagging behind the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in sterling terms, which returned 6.6%.
Net asset value as at September 30 was 98.26 pence per share, down from 100.00p as at May 15, 2017, when the trust launched.
Share price as at the end of September was 99.00p, reflecting a 0.8% premium to net asset value.
Shares in Jupiter Emerging & Frontier Income Trust was up 2.3% at 95.00p on Friday.
The trust said that although the first part of the period was helped by US tax reforms, later on challenging market conditions began to reveal themselves, including US-China trade tensions, Russian sanctions and the impact of higher US interest rates.
Emerging markets were also affected politically, with upcoming elections in India, Sri Lanka and Nigeria creating further volatility.
The trust declared an annual dividend of 4.0p per share.
"The current volatility of world markets has highlighted the importance of being selective and our managers have already shown themselves to be adept at identifying suitable investment opportunities. As I have said before, the board has great confidence in the investment adviser's ability to navigate its way through the choppy waters currently presented by emerging and frontier markets," said Chair John Scott.
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