Peter Ewins, manager of F&C Global Smaller Companies, which also has 38 years of consecutive dividend growth, says: "The severe economic slowdown is putting pressure on dividends across the globe. Over the years F&C Global Smaller Companies has targeted those businesses with strong long-term growth prospects. Although initially many of these will have relatively low yields, as these businesses mature and generate positive free cash flows they are better positioned to grow their dividends.
"We feel this targeting of businesses offering progressive growth in dividends is preferable to buying stocks that may immediately offer a high yield but with limited growth prospects," he adds.
"While pressure is on dividends, F&C Global Smaller Companies has a large revenue reserve on which it can draw. This helps the trust protect its ability to maintain its record of increasing dividends through tough times."
| F&C GLOBAL SMALLER COMPANIES (FCS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE | 275p | NAV | 317.95 |
| SIZE OF FUND | £155m | PRICE DISCOUNT TO NAV | 13.51 |
| No OF HOLDINGS: | 202 | 1 YEAR PERFORMANCE | -21.5 |
| SET UP DATE | 29 Jun 59 | 3 YEAR PERFORMANCE | -16 |
| MANAGER START DATE | 5 YEAR PERFORMANCE | 67.2 | |
| TURNOVER | na | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 1.37% |
| VOLATILITY | na | YIELD | 1.76% |
| TRACKING ERROR | na | MORE DETAILS | fandcglobalsmaller.com |
| SHARPE RATIO | -0.38 | ||
| TOP TEN HOLDINGS | % |
|---|---|
| iShare MSCI Japan | 4.9 |
| AXA Rosenburg Japan | 4.7 |
| Crawford & Company | 2 |
| Aberdeen Global Asia Small Cap | 1.3 |
| Allianz Little Dragons | 1.3 |
| Scottish Oriental Smaller Cos Inv Trust | 1.2 |
| AXA Rosenberg Pacific ex Japan | 1 |
| Connaught | 0.9 |
| Actuant | 0.9 |
| Alleghany | 0.9 |
| GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN | % |
|---|---|
| USA | 45 |
| UK | 25 |
| Japan | 10 |
| Europe | 8 |
| Other Far East | 6 |
| Cash & Fixed Interest | 6 |
Source: Fact Sheet, Morningstar & Datastream
