24th Nov 2021 10:58
(Alliance News) - Personal Assets Trust PLC on Wednesday kept its interim payout the same following a solid performance in the first half of its financial year.
The FTSE 250-listed investment trust aimed at private investors said NAV per share increased 5.3% to GBP489.77 on October 31 compared to April 30's GBP465.19, while the FTSE All-Share Index rose by 3.6%.
PAT said: "Looking at the trust's total return over the six months, one might think that we were tracking the index, but such a suggestion could not be further from the truth. This outcome is one of those strange quirks of fate. During the period we held circa 40% of the trust in equities, and only 7% was invested in the UK stock market. More often than not, our performance will differ materially from the comparator index, and despite this short term coincidence of returns we have continued in our aim to protect and increase (in that order) the value of shareholders' capital.
"We believe that, in our conservative asset allocation combined with qualitative equity selection, we are taking considerably less risk than that of an index tracker," the company added.
PAT kept its quarterly dividend the same at GBP1.40 per share.
Looking ahead, and specifically with regard to the current risks, PAT said that gold bullion and inflation-protected securities provide a foil for its equity exposure.
"The trust's liquidity will provide both downside protection and the ability to add to our equities as opportunities present themselves, as we did in the first quarter of 2020," it said.
PAT shares were up 0.1% to 50,150.50 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Greg Roxburgh; [email protected]
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