Private equity investment trust SVG Capital had a storming 2010. Earnings rose strongly at the companies it holds stakes in, and their valuations have followed suit. The total return from the investment portfolio for the year was 35.9 per cent, and SVG's net asset value (NAV) per share rose by 41.7 per cent to 316p.
250p
The performance was helped by the trust's high gearing level (net debt as a percentage of net assets). But the high level of indebtedness of both the trust and the underlying companies is also a risk so it is welcome that gearing is falling, having come down to 31.9 per cent from 44.2 per cent.
Price: 162p
When: 15/04/10
Performance: +54%
