Personal Assets Trust has been run by Troy Asset Management since March 2009 and has returned nearly 12 per cent over the past year.
Troy Asset Management has an investment process similar to Personal Asset Trust's former managers. Troy runs a number of funds with a wealth preservation ethos as the company was initially established to run the family wealth of the Weinstock dynasty. Personal Assets Trust's fund manager is Sebastian Lyon, who has worked at Troy since it was set up in 2000 and also runs the Trojan Fund.
Mr Lyon uses top-down asset allocation combined with stock picking and has made strong total returns with the Trojan Fund and positive returns every year, including 2008. This approach should help Personal Assets Trust continue to firstly protect and then increase the value of shareholders' funds over the long term. The trust seeks a total return as high as is compatible with a risk equivalent to that of the FTSE All-Share.
Personal Assets Trust has a very concentrated portfolio with a good deal of inflation protection built in (similar to Ruffer Investment Company) via index-linked bonds and gold, accounting for well over a third of the portfolio.
Personal Assets Trust trades on a slight premium to net asset value, which is unlikely to fall if the trust continues to make good steady returns.
PERSONAL ASSETS TRUST (PNL) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE: | 31,288p | 1-YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE: | 11.96% |
| MARKET CAP: | £279.52m | 3-YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE: | 24.55% |
| No OF HOLDINGS: | 23* | 5-YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE: | 34.55% |
| SET-UP DATE: | 22 July 1983 | 2008 NAV PERFORMANCE: | -5.55%** |
| NAV: | 30,676.7p | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO: | 1.18% |
| PRICE PREMIUM TO NAV: | 0.35% | YIELD: | 1.71% |
| GEARING: | 100% | MORE DETAILS: | taml.co.uk |
Source: Investors Chronicle, *Troy Asset Management & **Morningstar.
Performance data as at 6 December 2010.
Top 10 holdings as at 31 October 2010
| Holding | Percentage |
|---|---|
| US TIPS 1.375% 15/07/18 | 25.6 |
| Gold | 12.2 |
| British American Tobacco | 5.6 |
| Nestlé | 4.9 |
| Coca-Cola | 4.7 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | 3.5 |
| Diageo | 3.4 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3.4 |
| Philip Morris International | 3.2 |
| Vodafone | 3.2 |
Asset allocation
| Asset | Percentage |
|---|---|
| UK equities | 28.3 |
| US equities | 21.6 |
| Swiss equities | 4.9 |
| Australian equities | 2.2 |
| Gold | 12.2 |
| US Treasury Inflation Protected Securities | 27.7 |
| Net current assets | 3.1 |
