The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Alliance Trust sees dividends grow again
DIVERSIFICATION: Multi-manager approach pays off for investment firm
Dundee-based Alliance Trust has hailed full-year results showing the investment firm has outperformed its benchmark.
The firm shrugged off Brexit concerns to deliver a net asset value total return of the 23.1% and a total shareholder return of 24.3% .
Both measures outperformed the MSCI all-country world index which Alliance Trust uses as its benchmark.
The diversification of the firm’s portfolio was credited with the strong performance which saw an increased dividend of 3% to 13.96p – the 53rd consecutive year the firm has delivered a dividend increase.
In 2017, the firm moved to a multimanager approach which saw top stock picks from some of the world’s best managers rated by multi-national risk management firm Willis Towers Watson, blended into a single, diverse portfolio.
Chairman Gregor Stewart said: “Apart from some tens of thousands, we have completed the simplification of the trust, by selling our subsidiary, Alliance Trust Savings and virtually all our remaining core assets.
“As a result, we are now fully focused on global equities, something the board has been working towards for the past four years.
“We expect the trust’s new streamlined structure to lead to continued improvement in returns to shareholders, making us an attractive core holding for generations of investors for many years to come.”
Mr Stewart, who highlighted that Alliance Trust was “a long-term investment” added that economic policy and political uncertainty are elevated globally, making it increasingly difficult to predict economic outcomes, making diversification and robust risk management “critical”.
With the appointment of Jo Dixon as chairwoman of the audit and risk committee, Alliance Trust has also achieved its target of 33% female representation on the board.
The firm, whose registered office is at West Victoria Dock Road, underlined its Dundee heritage as it announced plans to again hold its annual general meeting in the city in April.
However, a watching brief was being kept on any coronavirus developments prior to the meeting.