6th Jun 2014 12:31
LONDON (Alliance News) - Securities Trust of Scotland PLC Friday under-performed its benchmark in the year to end-March.
The trust posted a total return on net asset value per share of 3.3%, lagging behind its benchmark, the MSCI World High Dividend Yield index, which returned 5.8%.
The trust performed well in Asia, and avoided Australian and Chinese Banks. It performed poorly in North America, it said, where its energy investments were weak.
Financials, utilities and industrials performed well in Asia and North America, although consumer discretionary and energy stocks were weaker.
Its top performers were Lockheed Martin Corp, Safran SA and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Its weakest were Kinder Morgan Inc, WorleyParsons Ltd and HSBC Holdings PLC.
It said that it was "disappointing" that it hadn't been able to "keep pace" with its benchmark, but remains confident that its stock picking strategy will be rewarded over time.
Securities Trust said that political and macroeconomic events were likely to continue influencing the short term direction of equity markets, but the longer-term outlook for companies was encouraging.
Shares in Securities Trust of Scotland were trading up 0.2% at 146.51 pence Friday afternoon.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @hanassallnews
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