Alliance Trust hails progress in 2017 after changes in strategy
Wealth manager Alliance Trust has hailed a “transformational” 2017, saying its new investment approach is generating positive results.
However, it also unveiled a writedown at its savings arm yesterday.
Overall, the Dundee-based trust said it delivered a total shareholder return of 19.2 per cent, compared with a 13.8 per cent rise for the MSCI All Country World Index.
It declared a final dividend of 3.29p, bringing the total dividend to 13.16p for the year, a year-on-year increase of 3 per cent that it said builds on 50 years of growth.
The trust also appointed Willis Towers Watson as investment manager dur- ing the year and debuted its new investment approach in April. But it wrote down £23.5 million at its Alliance Trust Savings arm after a “challenging” year.
Alliance Trust chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin said: “This has been a transformational year for the trust. We are delighted that as we move into our 130th year we are continuing the trust’s progressive dividend policy and believe the foundations are now firmly in place for [us] to deliver strong and sustainable performance for our shareholders for generations to come.”
Broker Cannacord Genuity said: “We strongly believe that the company finally has solid foundations on which to build and generate superior longterm returns.” Shares closed up 1.1 per cent to 736p.