9th Aug 2021 08:58
(Alliance News) - Smithson Investment Trust PLC on Monday reported a sharp underperformance against its benchmark for the first half of 2021, as trading activity slowed sharply in calmer markets, leading to a much smaller contribution from its portfolio.
For the six months ended June 30, the trust said its net asset value total return was 5.9%, compared to the MSCI World SMID index, which posted a return of 12.4%.
As at June 30, the trust's net asset value per share rose 21% to 1,746.6 pence from 1,447.6p the same date a year prior. Smithson's share price at the end of June was 1,780.0p, bringing the premium to NAV to 1.9%.
Shares in Smithson Investment Trust were up 0.1% at 1,883.96 pence on Monday in London.
Portfolio-wise, the two strongest contributors to the fund's performance was Fortinet, driven by the rise in cybersecurity spending by corporates following the Solarwinds hack in December, And Domino's Pizza Enterprises - which owns the pizza chain's franchises in Australia - which continued to prosper from ongoing demand for its home delivery services.
Since the trust's main objective is to provide shareholder returns through long term capital appreciation rather than income, Smithson has not declared any dividend payout.
"The board remains positive on the outlook for global small and mid-cap equities despite the impact on the global economy and financial markets from the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst good progress is being made on the rollout of vaccinations globally, across many countries rates of infection remain high and vaccination levels low. New variants of the virus continue to emerge, and the pandemic may continue to have social and economic impacts for some time to come," said Chair Mark Pacitti.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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