Athelney Trust PLC
Legal Entity Identifier:
213800ON67TJC7F4DL05
The unaudited net asset value of Athelney Trust was
189.8p at 30 April 2024.
Fund Manager's
comment for April 2024
In the US, the Federal Reserve maintained the
interest rate in the range of between 5.25% and 5.5% and indicated
that it is likely to remain at this level for a while longer as
there had been "a lack of further progress" towards their 3%
inflation goal in recent months. However, on the flip side the
Federal Reserve did indicate that it was unlikely that interest
rates would rise to counter the recent uptick in inflation as the
economy was moving towards full employment in an environment of
subdued price pressure. In the 4th quarter,
US GDP increased by 3.4% with a further 175,000 jobs added
in April, albeit below estimates of a 241,000 rise, with
unemployment rising slightly to 3.9%, compared with estimates of
3.8%.
Eurozone Q1 GDP growth came in stronger than expected
this week and the April CPI showed further disinflation progress as
the core CPI slowed to 2.7% year-on-year. The gain in the
Eurozone Q1 GDP was widespread, even if the strength of the rebound
varied across the region's major economies. German and French GDP
both rose in Q1, albeit by a modest 0.2% over the previous quarter.
Italy's GDP increased by a slightly stronger 0.3%, and Spain's GDP
rose by a solid 0.7%.
By comparison, the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) has forecast that the UK GDP
will increase by a mere 0.4% in 2024, a softer expansion than any
other G7 economy apart from Germany, combined with a higher rate of
inflation of 2.7%. UK mortgage approvals hit an 18-month high in
March, rising to a more normal level of 61,300 after falling to a
low of 39,800 in January 2023 when higher interest rates curbed
demand.
The slight uptick in inflation and
the perceived delay in the easing of interest rates put pressure on
share prices with the S&P500 declining
by 4.2% for the month. The
NASDAQ reported a similar decline of 4.4% as
did the MSCI which was down by 3.9% over the
month.
Notwithstanding the negative economic
news, the UK markets performed strongly with the FTSE 100 up by
2.41%, the Small Cap Index up by 2.02%, the AIM All-Share index up
by 2.35% and the Fledgling Index up by 4.15%. The broad index
did not fare quite as well with the FTSE 250 up by only
0.41%.
The Athelney portfolio was unchanged for the
month and, after allowing for expenses, the NAV reflected a decline
of 0.42%.
During April, we established a
position in Relx, added to our holding in Begbies Traynor while
selling our entire holding in Spirax-Sarco Engineering and reducing
our holding in London Metric. This resulted in our cash
holding increasing slightly to 2.8%.
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 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
www.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
·
Barrack St Investments (ASX code: BST)
AUD37m www.barrackst.com
·
Global Masters Fund Limited (ASX code: GFL)
AUD33m www.globalmastersfund.com.au
·
Athelney Trust plc (LSE code: ATY)
GBP6m 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 a "Dividend Hero"
being one of only a few investment companies that have increased
their dividend every year for 20 years or more. See link
https://www.theaic.co.uk/income-finder/dividend-heroes
Website
www.athelneytrust.co.uk