REG - Athelney Trust plc - Net Asset Value(s)

Athelney TrustAnnouncement

04/10/2023 15:00

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RNS Number : 7161O  Athelney Trust PLC  04 October 2023

Athelney Trust PLC

 

Legal Entity Identifier:

213800ON67TJC7F4DL05

The unaudited net asset value of Athelney Trust was 201.9p at 30 September
2023.

Fund Manager's comment for September 2023

While US GDP growth was steady at 2.1% for the second quarter of 2023,
treasury yields climbed higher following recent hawkish comments from the
FOMC, a renewed increase in oil prices and a steep decline in US crude
stockpiles. The temporary ban by Russia of exports of petrol and diesel to all
countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states raised further concerns
about tight oil supplies. The suspension of Evergrande's trading in Hong Kong,
added to fears of financial contagion throughout China's property sector and
that this would flow into other markets and other sectors of the global
economy.  These events overshadowed the expectation of an eventual lowering
of interest rates, previously believed to be sufficient to maintain the
positive momentum in the markets, with the net result that the NASDAQ was down
by 5.8% with the S&P500 faring slightly better, declining by only 4.9%.
This was also the case globally with the MSCI declining during the month by
4.5%.

 

In the UK, prices rose less than expected in August with the annual rate of
inflation falling to 6.7% even though petrol and diesel prices rose on the
back of higher crude oil costs. Core inflation, excluding food, energy,
alcohol and tobacco, was 6.2%, down sharply from 6.9% in the previous month.
Gilt yields and Sterling declined after the data release and while the Bank of
England (BoE) held their policy rate at 5.25%, they did leave the door open to
a further tightening.

 

Recent strong GDP figures indicated that the UK economy grew by 0.2% in the
second quarter of 2023 with the year-on-year data up by 0.6%. This improvement
was reflected in the performance of the larger companies with the FTSE100 up
by 2.3% while the remainder of the market and in particular, the mid-cap
companies did not perform quite as well.  The FTSE 250 declined by 1.8%,
dragged down by the mid-cap stocks with the AIM All-Share Index declining by
2.2%.  The Small Cap Index was up by 0.2% and the Fledgling Index performed
slightly better, up by 0.4%. In spite of a substantial increase in the income
received by way of dividends, the Athelney portfolio declined by 2.3% during
the month and, after paying an interim dividend of 2.2p, the NAV reflected a
decline of 3.3%.

There were no changes to the portfolio during the month and we utilised some
of our cash on hand to pay the interim dividend to shareholders.  Our cash
holding at month end comprised 3.2% of the portfolio.

 

Fact Sheet

An accompanying fact sheet which includes the information above as well as
wider details on the portfolio can be found on the Fund's website
www.athelneytrust.co.uk (http://www.athelneytrust.co.uk) under "About" then
select "Latest Monthly Fact Sheet".

Background Information

Dr. Emmanuel (Manny) Pohl AM

Manny is Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of E C Pohl & Co ("ECP"),
an investment management company and has been a major shareholder in Athelney
trust for many years.

E C Pohl & co is licensed by the Australian Financial services (license
no.421704).

www.ecpohl.com (http://www.ecpohl.com)

www.ecpam.com (http://ecpam.com/)

Manny Pohl and the ECP group has AUD2.7bn (£1.5 billion) under its management
including four listed investment companies, three listed in Australia and one
in the UK:

·    Flagship Investments (ASX code:FSI)

AUD95m https://flagshipinvestments.com.au (https://flagshipinvestments.com.au)

·    Barrack St Investments (ASX code: BST)

AUD37m www.barrackst.com (https://www.barrackst.com/)

·    Global Masters Fund Limited (ASX code: GFL)

AUD33m www.globalmastersfund.com.au (http://www.globalmastersfund.com.au)

·    Athelney Trust plc (LSE code: ATY)

GBP6m www.athelneytrust.co.uk (http://www.athelneytrust.co.uk)
 

Athelney Trust plc Investment Policy

 The investment objective of the Trust is to provide shareholders with
prospects of long-term capital growth with the risks inherent in small cap
investment minimised through a spread of holdings in quality small cap
companies that operate in various industries and sectors. The Fund Manager
also considers that it is important to maintain a progressive dividend record.

The assets of the Trust are allocated predominantly to companies with either a
full listing on the London Stock Exchange or a trading facility on AIM or
ISDX. The assets of the Trust have been allocated in two main ways: first, to
the shares of those companies which have grown steadily over the years in
terms of profits and dividends but, despite this progress, the market rating
is favourable when compared to future earnings and dividends; second, to those
companies whose shares are standing at a favourable level compared with the
value of land, buildings or cash in the balance sheet.

Athelney Trust was founded in 1994. In 1996 it was one of the ten pioneer
members of the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM"). In 2008 the shares
became fully listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Athelney
Trust has a successful progressive dividend growth record and the dividend has
grown every year since 2004. According to the Association of Investment
Companies (AIC) Athelney Trust is one of only "22 investment companies that
have increased their dividend every year between 10 and 20 years - the next
generation of dividend heroes" (as at 20/03/2018). See link

https://www.theaic.co.uk/income-finder/dividend-heroes
(https://www.theaic.co.uk/income-finder/dividend-heroes)

Website

www.athelneytrust.co.uk (http://www.athelneytrust.co.uk)
 

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