F&C trust increases its dividend for 39th year
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The £2.23 billion Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust has raised its dividend for a 39th consecutive year, despite marginally underperforming its benchmark.
For the year ended December 31, 2009, the global growth trust, managed by Jeremy Tigue, increased its net asset value by 21.3%.
Over the same period its benchmarks (40% FTSE All-Share and 60% FTSE All World ex UK), produced a total return of 23.4%. (article continues below)
According to the trust’s board, the drag on performance was caused by the manager’s allocation to private equity, to which the benchmark has no exposure.
Positive stock selection, being geared into rising markets, and share buybacks aided performance over the course of the year. However, no performance fee was awarded to F&C for the reporting period.
After a review of the manager’s overall performance, the board has reappointed F&C as the manager of the trust.
