The £1.23bn BlackRock World Mining (BRWM) trust has been trading for the best part of 20 years, and despite suffering reversals greater than the FTSE World Mining Index when global demand contracted in the nine months following August 2008, it has still managed to deliver 583 per cent cumulative growth in net asset value (NAV) over the past decade.
Investors can choose to invest in the trust via BlackRock's dedicated savings plan, or alternately, through a stocks and shares individual savings account (Isa). An annual gross management fee of 1.25 per cent is applicable.
The fund's portfolio is managed by a team of experts, which includes BlackRock's precious metals guru Evy Hambro. The aim is to maximise total returns to shareholders through a portfolio of global mining and metal securities - up to 10 per cent of assets may be invested in physical metals.
The current fund allocation features a short-term maturity bond holding in commodity supplier Glencore. The portfolio also includes large positions in Vale Minerals, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
Since March there has been a move away from base metal producers in favour of gold and platinum exposure as uncertainties grow over the global economy. While gold prices have fallen from their historic highs earlier this year, there are investors concerned that large quantitative easing programmes could eventually feed through into an inflationary spiral.
BLACKROCK WORLD MINING TRUST (BRWM) | |||
---|---|---|---|
PRICE | 539p | NAV | 654.75p |
SIZE OF FUND | £1.23bn | PRICE DISCOUNT TO NAV | 18.59% |
No OF HOLDINGS: | na | 1 YEAR PERFORMANCE | 40.82%* |
SET UP DATE | 15 Dec 93 | 3 YEAR PERFORMANCE | -4.03%* |
MANAGER START DATE | 15 Dec 93 | 5 YEAR PERFORMANCE | 18.25%* |
TURNOVER | na | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 1.2%* |
VOLATILITY (3-YEAR MEAN) | 9.35%* | NET YIELD | 0.89% |
TRACKING ERROR | na | GEARING | 102.70% |
SHARPE RATIO | 0.15* | MORE DETAILS | blackrock.co.uk |
Source: BlackRock & *Morningstar
Performance figures as at 19 July 2010
Top 10 holdings (as at 31 May)
Holding | Percentage |
---|---|
Vale | 11.04 |
Rio Tinto | 9.25 |
BHP Billiton | 7.49 |
Teck Resources | 5.18 |
Glencore Finance (Europe) 5% 2014 | 5.17 |
Cea di Minas Buenaventura (ADR) | 5.12 |
Impala Platinum | 4.81 |
First Quantum Minerals | 4.25 |
Fresnillo | 3.14 |
Freeport McMoRan | 2.97 |
Sector breakdown
Sector | Percentage |
---|---|
Diversified minerals | 45.7 |
Base Metals | 18.3 |
Gold | 13.3 |
Platinum | 7.7 |
Silver and Diamonds | 7 |
Industrial Minerals | 6 |
Net Current Assets | 1.1 |
Other | 0.9 |