Stay connected:
Citywire printed articles sponsored by:
View the article online at http://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/article/a557757
IT Insider: the winning trusts of 2011- and some ideas for 2012
Markets
by James Carthew on Jan 16, 2012 at 00:01
2011 was a year that many are glad to put behind them. Returns from most asset classes were poor, with negative real returns from equities in almost every country.
The US market came out on top, with the UK not far behind. Emerging markets fared badly as worries grew about the sustainability of Chinese growth. Generally, small cap stocks underperformed.
Thanks to market manipulation by central banks, bonds were the asset class to be in as US, UK and German government bond markets generated double digit returns. The gold price was volatile but up over the year.
About a quarter of the investment company market delivered positive performance (in price terms) over the year.
The standout winners of 2011 were a few property trusts bouncing off the lows of the past couple of years; Matrix European , Argo and Taliesin took the first, second and fourth positions.
Greenwich Loan Income (in which I have an interest as a shareholder and a director) was the third best performer as we successfully concluded the takeover of Asset Management Investment Company and announced a substantial reduction in the management fee.
In fifth position came Henderson Private Equity . Its realisation strategy (adopted in 2010) began to bear fruit over 2011 and this enabled it to conduct a tender at the end of the year. In sixth place, Northern Investors took the decision to shift to a realisation strategy in the summer and held its first tender in the autumn.
Also worthy of a mention is Marwyn Value Investors (another one in my portfolio). Its shares were boosted in April with news of an offer for the whole company from Marwyn Management Partners.
This fell by the wayside but in September its largest investment, Entertainment One (the media rights company whose portfolio includes Peppa Pig and the Twilight Saga) announced it had had approaches.
While there can be no guarantee that this will come to anything, it is worth noting that Marwyn Value still sits on a 30% discount.
News sponsored by:
Citywire 10k run: the 28 teams & 173 runners set to do battle
We reveal the teams and runners who have committed to take part in our annual fundraiser at Regent's Park later this month.
Today's top headlines
More about this:
Look up the shares
- Argo Real Estate Opportunities Fund Ltd
- Taliesin Property Fund Ltd
- Greenwich Loan Income Fund Ltd
- Entertainment One Ltd
- Biotech Growth Trust PLC
- Carpathian PLC
- Orchid Developments Group Ltd
- Sofia Property Fund Ltd
- Low Carbon Accelerator Ltd
- Vision Opportunity China Fund Ltd
-
Look up the investment trusts
- Matrix European Real Estate (Ordinary Share)
- Henderson Private Equity (Ordinary Share)
- Marwyn Value Investors (Ordinary Share)
- Baker Steel Resources (Ordinary Share)
- PSource Structured Debt (Ordinary Share)
More from us
Archive
Aberdeen Live supplement: Fundamentals point to ongoing flows and solid returns from EMD
After a record year for inflows and market-leading performance in 2012, emerging market debt has taken a large step towards the mainstream. Our recent debate covers the outlook for the asset class this year and where opportunities can be found.
On the road
Click here to find out more from the Audience Development team.
Sponsored Video: J.P. Morgan Elect on growth, income and cash
J.P. Morgan Elect on investment growth, income and cash. More information on J.P. Morgan investment trusts.
leave a comment
Please sign in here or register here to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.