The objective of the North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust is to provide capital appreciation through investment in a portfolio of smaller companies principally based in countries bordering the North Atlantic. Even though the fund sits in the Association of Investment Companies' North American Smaller Companies sector, it does not have much exposure to US listings. More than half of the portfolio is invested in companies listed in the UK and the fund also invests in unquoted investments, bonds and cash.
Nevertheless, it's the best-performing investment trust in the sector over five years. With the weakness of the US dollar, having more exposure to UK listings means the trust has less direct exposure to currency fluctuations, although the underlying profits of some of the companies it invests in are still affected.
The investment trust is a better holding for growth than income investors, not just because of the underlying nature of many of its holdings, but also because it does not pay dividends. The inclusion of unlisted equities - nearly 12 per cent of the portfolio - means it may also have a higher risk profile than a fund focused on listed equities.
The trust charges a performance fee up to 0.5 per cent of shareholders' funds if the investment portfolio outperforms the sterling-adjusted Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Index in the year to 31 January.
The trust has an experienced manager in Christopher Mills, a founding director of JO Hambro Capital Management. Prior to joining this company's board in 1993, his positions included head of North American investments at Invesco MIM, and he has also worked at North American Venture Capital.
Full data for North Atlantic Smaller Companies can be found here.
NORTH ATLANTIC SMALLER COMPANIES (NAS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE | 1,060p | NAV | 1,354.76p |
| MARKET CAP | £151.84m | PRICE DISCOUNT TO NAV | 24.11% |
| SET UP DATE | 24-Jan-73 | 1 YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE | 21.81% |
| ANNUAL FEE | 1%* | 3 YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE | 12.89% |
| PERFORMANCE FEE | 0.5%* | 5 YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE | 33.93% |
| GEARING | 100% | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 1.84% |
| YIELD | 0% | MORE DETAILS | www.johcm.co.uk |
Source: Investors Chronicle, *JO Hambro Capital Management.
Performance data as at 8 November 2010.
TOP TEN HOLDINGS as at 8 November 2010
| Holding | Percentage |
|---|---|
| US Treasury Bills | 11.79 |
| Bionostics Holdings | 10.89 |
| Oryx International Growth | 8.76 |
| RPC Group | 5.5 |
| BBA Aviation | 5.05 |
| Nationwide Accident Repair | 4.15 |
| Orthoproducts | 4.04 |
| Trident Private Equity | 3.93 |
| Gleeson | 3.7 |
| Assetco | 3.59 |
Geographic breakdown
| Country | Percentage |
|---|---|
| UK | 58 |
| USA | 16 |
| Cash | 13 |
| Fixed interest | 11 |
| France | 2 |
