The second-largest trust in the UK Growth & Income sector, City of London has a history going back to 1860. At just 0.37 per cent, the trust's total expense ratio (TER) is the lowest in its sector against an average of 0.67 per cent. It invests conservatively, mainly in large companies with 80 per cent of the portfolio in FTSE 100 stocks. The yield is 5.64 per cent and the trust trades at a discount of 6 per cent.
Job Curtis has managed the trust since 1991. He is head of Henderson's UK Value and Income investment team.
The trust has a 15.3 per cent exposure to financials, with HSBC making up 4.7 per cent of the portfolio. Mr Curtis recently purchased a holding in Standard Chartered, the UK-based bank that has extensive interests in the Far East and emerging markets. He says the bank completed a rights issue to strengthen its balance sheet and appeared good value relative to its growth prospects.
He also significantly reduced his holding in Lloyds TSB ahead of its merger with HBOS, which is not held by the trust, as the newly merged bank is unlikely to pay a dividend for some time.
| CITY OF LONDON (CTY) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE | 209p | NAV | 205.79p |
| SIZE OF FUND | £474m | PRICE DISCOUNT TO NAV | 0.95 |
| No OF HOLDINGS: | 97 | 1 YEAR PERFORMANCE | -21.4 |
| SET UP DATE | 04 May 55 | 3 YEAR PERFORMANCE | -25.1 |
| MANAGER START DATE | 01 Jan 91 | 5 YEAR PERFORMANCE | 29 |
| TURNOVER | na | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 0.97% |
| VOLATILITY | na | YIELD | 5.8 |
| TRACKING ERROR | na | MORE DETAILS | henderson.com |
| SHARPE RATIO | -0.69 | ||
| TOP TEN HOLDINGS | % |
|---|---|
| British American Tobacco | 6.2 |
| BP | 6.1 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | 5.6 |
| Vodafone | 5.4 |
| Royal Dutch Shell | 5.4 |
| Diageo | 5 |
| HSBC | 4.7 |
| National Grid | 3.3 |
| Scottish & Southern Energy | 3 |
| Tesco | 2.8 |
| SECTOR BREAKDOWN | % |
|---|---|
| Consumer Goods | 17.8 |
| Financials | 15.3 |
| Oil & Gas | 14.4 |
| Consumer Services | 10.9 |
| Industrials | 9.3 |
| Utilities | 8.9 |
| Health Care | 8.5 |
| Telecommunications | 8.3 |
| Basic Materials | 5.3 |
| Technology | 3 |
Source: Fact Sheet, Morningstar & Datastream
