Fund outperforms benchmark in 2023Dividend increases by 7% to 7.65pShares sit at 13% discount to NAVMid- and small-cap UK growth investor Mercantile Investment Trust (MRC) outperformed its benchmark in the year to 31 January, delivering a net asset total return of 4.5% and total shareholder returns of 6.1%.The dividend was increased by 7% for the year to 7.65p per share, comfortably covered by...

JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income(JUGI) 293.5pMarket cap: £403.4 millionA major trend in the investment trust sector is mergers between sub-scale trusts with similar remits to create funds large enough and sufficiently liquid to attract wealth managers and retail investors.One example which Shares believes offers a compelling proposition is JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income (JUGI),...

For the second part of our annual survey, we asked fund managers if they had changed their view on any stocks this year, for better or for worse, and what lay behind their decisions.As with the winners and losers survey last week, the answers were often frank and once again we would like to thank everyone who took part.Thomas Moore - Aberdeen Equity Income Trust (AEI)THE STOCK THAT I CHANGED...

There were several trends in the UK stock market this year which, if you managed to identify them, served you well.Most obviously, although it may not have seemed it at the index level, large-cap stocks generally performed better than small- and mid-caps, although for the lucky few the small-cap space has been rife with takeover activity.In terms of sectors, aerospace and defence topped the...

A healthy number of lesser-known businesses have done very well in share price terms since coming to market in the last two years, with price appreciation reflecting strong operational performances or the fact they sate voracious investor appetite for a particular theme.Readers will be familiar with high-profile post-pandemic newcomers on the London Stock Exchange (LSGE) trading above their...

- Driving value in fragmented £52 billion addressable market- Digitisation, Cloud, cybersecurity all hot investment themes- Vital partners to tech giants like Microsoft, AWS, Adobe and AppleAnalysts at stock broker Liberum believe there is great long-term returns potential from the UK technology value-added reseller space, including Softcat (SCT), Bytes Technology (BYIT) and Computacenter...

Sanford DeLand's CFP SDL UK Buffettology (BF0LDZ3) and CFP SDL Free Spirit (BYYQC27) funds have forged top-notch long-term performance records since respective launches in 2011 and 2017 thanks to the unwavering pursuit of 'Business Perspective Investing', a quality-focused approach championed by 'Sage of Omaha' Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.Unusually however, both portfolios managed by...

UK stocks traded lower on Tuesday, in spite of an advance in US markets and better than expected jobs numbers from the Office for National Statistics.According to the latest data, the number of UK workers rose by 241,000 between July and August, sending employment back to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic.By the close, however, the FTSE 100 of leading shares was down 34 points or...

UK stocks traded lower on Tuesday, dragged down by weakness in the mining and banking sectors. This was despite the number of workers rising by 241,000 between July and August, sending employment back to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics.At 1pm the FTSE 100 of leading shares was down 21 points or 0.3% at 7,048 points.Trading in...

There are lots of good reasons why investors should have allocations to the FTSE 250, London's high-flying index oriented to mid caps which provides a purer play on the domestic UK economy than the exporter-heavy FTSE 100.The FTSE 250 captures those growth stocks that have come up from the small cap ranks and therefore had a chance to establish themselves. And crucially, it can catch these...