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ASL Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust Plc

1,396.00
26.00 (1.90%)
23 Apr 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust Plc LSE:ASL London Ordinary Share GB0000066554 ORD 1P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  26.00 1.90% 1,396.00 105,924 16:35:29
Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price
1,392.00 1,394.00 1,394.00 1,362.00 1,362.00
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Mgmt Invt Offices, Open-end 114.95M 103.34M 1.2246 11.38 1.18B
Last Trade Time Trade Type Trade Size Trade Price Currency
17:47:44 O 57 1,362.00 GBX

Aberforth Smaller Compan... (ASL) Latest News (1)

Aberforth Smaller Compan... (ASL) Discussions and Chat

Aberforth Smaller Compan... Forums and Chat

Date Time Title Posts
20/2/202409:02Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust plc...25 years on49
15/4/201408:55ARE SMALL CAPS MAKING A COMEBACK12

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Aberforth Smaller Compan... (ASL) Most Recent Trades

Trade Time Trade Price Trade Size Trade Value Trade Type
16:47:591,362.0057776.34O
16:47:591,396.005127,147.52O
16:30:141,380.14113.80O
16:29:241,355.86113.56O
16:03:031,395.9939544.44O

Aberforth Smaller Compan... (ASL) Top Chat Posts

Top Posts
Posted at 23/4/2024 09:20 by Aberforth Smaller Compan... Daily Update
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust Plc is listed in the Mgmt Invt Offices, Open-end sector of the London Stock Exchange with ticker ASL. The last closing price for Aberforth Smaller Compan... was 1,370p.
Aberforth Smaller Compan... currently has 84,384,605 shares in issue. The market capitalisation of Aberforth Smaller Compan... is £1,176,321,394.
Aberforth Smaller Compan... has a price to earnings ratio (PE ratio) of 11.38.
This morning ASL shares opened at 1,362p
Posted at 08/2/2024 11:41 by the deacon
Monthly investment commentary: JanuaryThe UK stock market fell in January and trailed the gains made by other major international indices.  The disinflationtrend continues, but CPI releasesin the month were not as low as hoped.  As a result, expectations for the first roundof rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England have been pushed further into the future.  Within the UK,large caps performed slightly better than small caps and the growth style out?stripped value.  The Fund was down by2.0%, in?line with the 2.0% decline of the benchmark DNSCI (XIC) and behind the FTSE All?Share's 1.3% fall.The leading positive contributor to performance was Wincanton, the logistics provider.    It was subject to arecommended cash offer from a subsidiary of CMA CGM, the French shipping and logistics operator.  CMC Markets,the financial derivatives dealer, performed strongly following the announcement of improved quarterly trading, ledby an increased contribution from its B2B and institutional business.  Foxtons Group, the estate agent, was anothergood performer as it issued a positive trading update, which indicated 2023's earnings would come in ahead of priorexpectations.Losers in the month included Close Brothers, the banking and asset management business.  The share price fell afterthe Financial Ombudsman decided against motor finance companies, which prompted a review by the FCA.Compensation or redress could affect the bank's earnings and capital base.  Shares in Reach, the publisher, fell butthere was no company specific newsin the month.  In the background, concernsremain about a sustained slowdownin advertising spending, while changes to Google's approach to third party cookies complicate how advertisersreached their intended audience.
Posted at 16/1/2024 17:18 by davebowler
Peel Hunt- Similarly, ASL's price to earnings of 6.9 times is a near record low, reflecting its focus on the smaller company end of the UK, where the discount to global markets is particularly stark. Peel Hunt emphasised the portfolio has strong balance sheets, with under 20% holding net debt twice as high as pre-tax profits.The £1.3bn trust benefited from increased M&A in 2023, driving shareholder returns of 6%, ahead of its benchmark's 4%. While the shares trade at an 11% discount, Peel Hunt does not expect it to persist as international and domestic buyers realise the returns on offer at the small-cap end of the UK market.
Posted at 12/1/2024 15:33 by davebowler
Tip Watch #2: Keep faith in my 2023 investment trust tips - they WILL come good

So says This is Money’s Jeff Prestridge. The commentator opens his above-titled article by highlighting how in 2023 “…equity investing…proved very much hit and miss…” Why? Because of “…a mish mash of factors – from uncertainty over the global economy to continued geopolitical tensions and a toxic mix of persistent inflation and high interest rates.” What’s more “The performance of investment trusts reflects this uncertain backdrop…of the 380 stock market-listed funds covered by the industry's trade body, the Association of Investment Companies, only 210 (55 per cent) have generated positive returns during 2023 – returns including both dividends and capital gains, but excluding investor costs. Factor those in and the number of positive returners reduces further…Of course, when five-year performance numbers are looked at, the picture changes. Far more funds (three quarters of them) have delivered positive returns.”

As for Prestridge’s 2023 tips: “This time last year, I assembled an investment trust portfolio that I thought could deliver spectacular returns. Not necessarily straightaway, but certainly over three to five years. The portfolio comprised ten trusts…investing in different parts of the world, some for growth, others for a mix of capital and income return…What linked these ten trusts a year ago was the fact that their share prices did not reflect the value of their underlying assets. They were sitting at big double-digit price discounts…My thesis was that these bargain prices would not last forever –resulting at some stage in a performance boost. I thought that maybe the discount propellant might kick in this year.” The ten trusts are listed below:

abrdn New India; Augmentum Fintech; Herald; Seraphim Space; Aberforth Smaller Cos.; Brunner; Invesco Asia; Schroder UK Mid Cap; Templeton Emerging Markets; and VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity

The article continues: “So what's happened to these trusts over the year? Have they delivered the stellar returns I thought they were capable of? The answer is no. I know this because I invested £100 in each of these ten trusts at the start of the year via my stocks and shares Isa. Looking at my Isa yesterday, the collective value of these holdings was £845.32. Add in the dividend income I have received of £15.09, and my £1,000 investment is now worth £860.41. In percentage terms, that is a significant fall of 14 per cent.” Despite the disappointing performance, Prestridge is sticking to his guns: “…I still believe that this portfolio will prove itself in time. Tellingly…nine of these trusts still have share prices at a big discount to the value of their underlying assets. These discounts will disappear if market sentiment improves. Maybe that will happen next year, maybe not. But I will hold these ten trusts until they sparkle.”
Posted at 21/12/2023 09:31 by davebowler
The Net Asset Values ("NAVs") per Ordinary Share for the above company as at the
close of business on 19 December 2023 were:-

Excluding current year Revenue = 1,457.80p

Including ALL Revenue = 1,504.45p
Posted at 17/11/2023 07:25 by davebowler
IC...This trust, which has assets worth over £1bn, invests in UK smaller companies and was trading at a 12.7 per cent discount to NAV as of 31 October. But my feeling is that UK equities trusts in general, especially small and mid-cap focused ones, look quite attractive. The valuations of Aberforth Smaller Companies’ holdings in particular look reasonable, as well as the trust being on a discount to NAV.

The underlying portfolio has a price/earnings ratio (PE) of about 7 times [in late October] and from that valuation the prospects for absolute gains are good. About half of its stocks have net cash on the balance sheet so they are not highly leveraged ‘zombie’ companies. Even if earnings don’t come through, the portfolio is still very inexpensively valued. And its managers have noticed a pick up in mergers and acquisitions – overseas investors buying UK smaller companies.

I hope that the Aberforth trust will outperform the FTSE All-Share index over the next three years, but in any case buying at about £11.44 [the price at the time of writing] will make you money eventually – if you are patient. The trust is more likely to go down than up in the next three months, and its managers take a value oriented approach so returns will either be at the top or bottom of its sector. Over the past decade this investment style has not done well but is a bit of a tailwind at the moment. And as interest rates peak out and inflation comes down, purchasing a well run portfolio should pay off even if we go into recession.
Posted at 05/12/2020 09:50 by skwas1
Hi all, any idea why ASL has outperformed ASIT over the last month (40% vs 23%). Considering the increased gearing of ASIT i fund this surprising.
Thanks
Posted at 11/11/2020 07:32 by spectoacc
Signs? It's been enormous!

"Based on historical data, the book-to-market enjoyed a 12x standard deviation rally, while price momentum and short-term growth factors suffered from 20x and 25x sigma sell-offs, respectively, on November 9."

(In US).
Posted at 09/11/2020 14:37 by king_baller
Big shift into small cap value going on with today’s vaccine news / sentiment. If, as is likely, there is Brexit progress in the near turn there could be a quick 30 percent bounce in ASL. Good opportunity to buy in at a particularly large discount, which I’ve taken.
Posted at 12/10/2020 12:31 by panshanger1
I've held on here too rather than crystallise loss Management team have very large holdings which has also been a factor - at least they share the pain !Stock selection has been poor though, a positive out come to Brexit negotiations should help GLA
Posted at 15/4/2014 08:55 by meblundell
Does anyone know why ASL is dropping??
Aberforth Smaller Compan... share price data is direct from the London Stock Exchange

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