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Murray International back on form, but partly due to currency

Murray International had a good 2016 partly due to Sterling weakness
March 16, 2017

Murray International Trust (MYI) made a share price total return of 50 per cent over 2016 and a 40.3 per cent net asset value (NAV) total return, against 25.8 per cent for its benchmark - 40 per cent FTSE World UK Index and 60 per cent FTSE World ex UK Index. However, a substantial part of this was driven by currency movements: during 2016, sterling depreciated 15 per cent following the UK's vote to leave the European Union in June, and around 90 per cent of the trust's revenues are from overseas companies which pay dividends in local currencies.

However, the trust's chairman, Kevin Carter, says: "After a difficult performance period in the prior three years, the continuing focus on geographical diversification and investment in companies with strong business franchises and shareholder-friendly management was rewarded in the period."

And Iain Scouller, managing director, investment funds research at Stifel, adds that the NAV has benefited "from good stock selection, emerging market exposure and sterling weakness. We like the manager's defensive income investment style together with his wariness over growing government debt and extraordinary monetary policy."

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