23rd Nov 2015 11:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - The World Trust Fund on Monday said its net asset value per share fell in both dollar and sterling terms in the six months to September 30, the first half of its financial year.
NAV per share fell by 11.3% in dollar terms and by 12.9% in sterling terms. NAV was USD4.07 per share at the end of September or GBP2.69 in sterling terms.
During the six-month period, the MSCI All Country World Index dropped 9.1%, and the MSCI All Country World ex-US Index lost 11.7%.
"Global equity market volatility continues to be elevated due to both economic (GDP growth, interest rates, currencies, commodities) and geopolitical (cross border tension, humanitarian crisis) concerns, and we expect such volatility to continue in the foreseeable future," said Kun Deng, the fund manager at Lazard Asset Management LLC.
"Amid this market volatility, the discounts of the investable assets universe also react, thus creating potential investment opportunities for the Fund. Investments focused on the United States were trimmed by 3% over the period, while emerging market focused investments were increased by 4% principally through an increase in the fund's China exposure," Kun Deng said.
With the fund at a discount of 14%, and the underlying portfolio discount at 23.6%, the World Trust Fund is effectively trading at a combined discount of 34.3% - the highest discount since the 2008 global financial crisis. Based on this every dollar invested in the fund is underpinned by USD1.52 worth of assets," the manager added.
Shares in World Trust Fund were down 2.0% at 247.23 pence on Monday late morning.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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