Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 0928A

F&C Managed Portfolio Trust PLC.

26 March 2012

 



To:      RNS

Date:  26 March 2012

From: F&C Managed Portfolio Trust plc

Interim Management Statement

For the quarter ended 29 February 2012

Company summary

The Company invests in a selection of listed investment companies that have underlying exposure across a range of geographic regions and sectors. This assists in diversifying the overall portfolio investment risk.

The Company's investments are managed in two separate portfolios; the Income Portfolio and the Growth Portfolio, to which the Income shares and the Growth shares are respectively entitled.  

Investment objective

Income Portfolio

The objective for the Income Portfolio is to provide shareholders with an attractive level of income together with the potential for income and capital growth from a diversified portfolio of investment company shares.

Growth Portfolio

The objective for the Growth Portfolio is to provide shareholders with capital growth from a diversified portfolio of investment company shares.

The benchmark index for both the Income Portfolio and the Growth Portfolio is the FTSE All-Share Index.

Performance summary

	Capital return				Total return 1
	As at 29 February 2012	As at 30 November 2011	Movement %		Qtr end 29 February 2012	Since launch 2 %
Income shares
Total net assets	£21.8m	£20.5m	+6.3%
NAV per share	97.43p	91.01p	+7.1%		+9.7%	+21.3%
Share price	96.0p	90.0p	+6.7%		+9.3%	+16.9%
Discount	(1.5)%	(1.1)%	n/a
Growth shares
Total net assets	£19.1m	£17.7m	+7.8%
NAV per share	101.31p	92.30p	+9.8%		+9.8%	+3.4%
Share price	100.0p	92.0p	+8.7%		+8.7%	+0.0%
Discount	(1.3)%	(0.3)%	n/a
FTSE All-Share Index Total return					+8.0%	+13.7%

Source: F&C Investment Business Limited, Datastream.

¹ All total returns are based on dividends re-invested.

² The Company was launched on 16 April 2008.

Review of the period 

There has been a welcome recovery in global equity markets over the past three months. Economies have not all suddenly turned the corner from near recession to recovery however the macro environment, which caused the problems for financial markets in the second half of last year, has certainly got no worse and in some areas is a bit better.  A key factor has been central bank activity. In the UK more QE undoubtedly assists markets, perhaps more importantly has been the actions of the European Central Bank which has boosted liquidity to Euro zone banks by allowing them to borrow at cheap rates whilst using the proceeds to invest in the higher yields available from certain Euro bond markets. This helps banks balance sheets and profitability. Achieving an agreement on a Greek bailout was also important. Signs of the broadening out of the US recovery were also supportive with most data beginning to point in the right direction. The result has been a general recovery across global equities.

Having significantly lagged the biggest companies over the second half of 2011, smaller and medium sized company indices have appear to have wrested the leadership and recorded substantial gains. This trend was most evident in the UK where the FTSE 250 Index (of medium sized companies) rose 11.5%, the FTSE Small cap Index gained 15.7% and the FTSE AIM Index was up an astonishing 18.7%. The reason for this recovery lies in the change in sentiment towards the macro data which simply got no worse rather than a sharp turnaround in growth.  However it was mirrored throughout most major indices with the NASDAQ Composite outperforming the S&P 500 in the US by 3%, the James Capel Euro Small Cap ex UK Index nearly 4% ahead of FTSE Europe ex UK and even in Japan the Tokyo 2^nd Market was ahead of the Nikkei 225 Index. The big relative gains were achieved in January, with February being more modest so the rally needs more time to become confirmed however it is encouraging that it occurred across most developed markets.

This change in leadership is supportive of Investment Company performance. Although the three month number indicates sector performance from the FTSE Equity Investment Instruments Index at 8.3% only slightly ahead of the main equity index it should be noted the sector was more than 2% adrift in December alone indicating useful relative gains during January and February. Average discounts moved out, then tightened to be only very slightly narrower over the period under review at 7.6% (excluding property, private equity and hedge funds). They started at 7.8%. Gearing, which is highly beneficial in rising markets, and a bias to mid and small cap weightings within the sector index were probably the principal factors behind the better relative performance.

NAV performance of both the Income and Growth Portfolios were usefully ahead of the FTSE All Share Index. Notable contributors to performance in the Growth portfolio were Biotech Growth Trust which gained 26% and Jupiter European Opportunities which rose by 18%. For the Income Portfolio the best performer was Lowland Investment Trust which was ahead by 18% with JPMorgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust also doing well with a 14% gain.

Dividends

A second interim dividend of 1.0 pence per Income share, in respect of the financial year to 31 May 2012, was paid on 6 January 2012. 

On 15 February 2012, a third interim dividend of 1.0 pence per Income share was declared in respect of the financial year to 31 May 2012.  This dividend is payable on 10 April 2012 to shareholders on the register on 24 February 2012.

As a result of the Offer for Subscription announced on 16 January 2012 and with a view to achieving a fair apportionment of dividends between existing and new Income shareholders, in addition to the third interim dividend referred to above, a special interim dividend of 0.3 pence per Income share was also declared on 15 February 2012.  This dividend is payable on 6 July 2012 to shareholders on the register on 24 February 2012.

Share buy backs and issues

During the quarter to 29 February 2012, the Company bought back 160,000 Income shares at a cost of £146,000 and 335,000 Growth shares at a cost of £317,000 to be held in treasury. At 29 February 2012, the Company held 160,000 Income shares and 685,000 Growth shares in treasury.  The total number of shares in issue with voting rights at 29 February 2012 was 22,397,192 Income shares and 18,875,567 Growth shares.

Offer for Subscription

On 16 January 2012 the Company announced an offer for subscription of up to 20 million Income shares and 20 million Growth shares in the Company. Subsequent to the period end, on 2 March 2012, the Board announced that applications had been received for 4,807,744 Income Shares and 7,844,276 Growth Shares in aggregate under the Offer for Subscription. Applications were satisfied in full raising gross proceeds of approximately £13 million. These shares were admitted to the premium segment of the Official List and admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities at 8.00 a.m. on 7 March 2012.

Top Ten Holdings at 29 February 2012

Income Portfolio

29 February 2012	30 November 2011	Company	% of net assets of Income Portfolio
1	2	Murray International Trust	5.9
2	1	British Assets Trust	5.8
3	3	Law Debenture Corporation	5.3
4	4	Aberdeen Asian Income Fund	5.0
5	8	Schroder Oriental Income Fund	4.3
6	6	European Assets Trust	4.3
7	5	Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust	4.3
8	13	Lowland Investment Company	4.1
9	9	City of London Investment Trust	4.1
10	11	Temple Bar Investment Trust	4.0
			47.1

Growth Portfolio

29 February 2012	30 November 2011	Company	% of net assets of Growth Portfolio
1	1	Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust	5.0
2	3	Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust	4.9
3	4	The Mercantile Investment Trust	3.9
4	7	Lowland Investment Company	3.8
5	6	Murray International Trust	3.6
6	9	Polar Capital Technology Trust	3.6
7	8	RCM Technology Trust	3.5
8	11	Edinburgh Dragon Trust	3.3
9	10	Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust	3.3
10	2	British Empire Securities & General Trust	3.1
			38.0

The Board is not aware of any other significant events or transactions that have occurred between 29 February 2012 and the date of publication of this statement that would have a material impact on the financial position of the Company.

Daily and key information

Further information regarding the Company, including daily net asset values published since the end of the period and monthly factsheets, can be found on the Company's website at www.fcmanagedportfolio.co.uk or on the website www.fandc.com.

This interim management statement has been prepared solely to provide information to meet the requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

For further information please contact:

Ian Ridge,

For F&C Investment Business Limited, Company Secretary Tel: [phone]

 

END

 

 

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