Athelney Trust PLC
Legal Entity Identifier:
213800ON67TJC7F4DL05
The unaudited net asset value of Athelney Trust was 274.2p at 30 April 2021.
Fund Manager's comment for April 2021
Recently released data showed that the U.S. economy expanded at an annualised rate of 6.4% in the first quarter, mostly from stimulus-fuelled consumers who were flush with cash after receiving their third stimulus check in March and estimated to be sitting on $2.2 trillion in "excess savings" which is likely to fuel a consumer-led recovery.
In the UK there are also signs that the economy is improving as evidenced by the rise in the April manufacturing and services PMIs and a larger-than-expected 5.4% month-on-month jump in March retail sales. If the record profits disclosed by Barclays for the first three months of this year which had more than doubled from a year earlier to £2.4bn are anything to go by, then as suggested by Barclays, the UK is likely to experience its biggest economic boom since the aftermath of World War Two, fuelled by a combination of a successful vaccine rollout and an estimated extra £200bn sitting in customer's bank accounts.
This view is reinforced with the positive news that the average number of new daily Covid-19 cases in the UK has fallen substantially since the start of the year, and vaccinations continue with more than 10.5 million people now having had their second jab and over 33 million their first. This is very encouraging as businesses and the economy strive to get back on the road to recovery.
The positive economic news was reflected in the world markets in April with the S&P 500 increasing by 5.2%, the NASDAQ up by 5.4% while the MSCI increased by 4.5%. The FTSE 100 was up by 3.8% providing a positive listing environment and welcome boost for the Darktrace IPO, rising by 40% on debut as compared to the recent Deliveroo IPO which was one of the worst in the city's history. The positive sentiment towards smaller stocks was evident in the increase of 5.1% in the Small Cap Index, a 7.3% increase in the AIM All Share Index, a 6.0% increase in the Fledging Index and a 4.6% increase in the FTSE 250 Index.
Our portfolio performed extremely well during the month, increasing by 8.32% and, after allowing for expenses, the NAV was up by 8.24%. There were no changes to the portfolio during the month which resulted in our overall cash position declining slightly from 2.1% to 2.0% at the end of April.
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 "Portfolio Details".
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 (licence no.421704).
Manny Pohl and the ECP group has over AU$1500m under its management including four listed investment companies, three listed in Australia and one in the UK:
· Flagship Investments (ASX code:FSI)
AUD50m https://flagshipinvestments.com.au
· Barrack St Investments (ASX code: BST)
AUD25m www.barrackst.com
· Global Masters Fund Limited (ASX code: GFL)
AUD25m www.globalmastersfund.com.au
· Athelney Trust plc (LSE code: ATY)
GBP5m 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
www.theaic.co.uk/aic/news/press-releases/next-generation-of-dividend-heroes
Website
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