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...

It has been a difficult year for investment trusts as a whole. Discounts have widened across various sectors and there have been a series of failed continuation votes and mergers. Yet some trusts have still done extremely well - relative both to the wider market and their peer group. In this article we shine a light on the biggest outperformers in some of the Association of Investment...

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...