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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust Plc | HSL | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.00 | 1.24% | 814.00 | 16:35:21 |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 807.00 | 806.00 | 815.00 | 814.00 | 804.00 |
| Industry Sector |
|---|
| EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS |
| Top Posts |
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Posted at 03/5/2024 16:18 by 18bt Hurray! Finally:Henderson Smaller relents and buys back shares at 15% discount The board of the £600m Henderson Smaller Companies trust drops its reluctance to buy shares, making its first stock repurchases in 13 years. Jamie Colvin Henderson Smaller Companies (HSL) has started buying back shares for the first time in 13 years after deciding that tackling the deep discount warranted the risk of shrinking the £600m investment trust. Stock exchange filings show that when its shares fell to 15% below net asset value (NAV) in late March, the board stepped in for the first time since 2011, spending £746,523 on repurchasing its shares in 10 transactions. In a statement, the board (chaired by Penny Freer) said its goal was enhancing the trust’s NAV by buying the shares cheaply. ‘This reflects our view that the current combination of the deep value of the underlying portfolio alongside the discount to its net asset value at which HSL’s share price trades presents an attractive opportunity for shareholder value enhancement,’ the statement said. ‘The buyback is within the authority granted at the last AGM which allows for a maximum of 14.99% of the share capital to be acquired.’ The trust had become an outlier in resisting buybacks, which surged to a record £4bn in the investment companies sector last year, as boards responded to the derating of their shares caused by high inflation and interest rates. In the trust’s half-year report in January, Freer said an increase in investor confidence in the UK and strong investment performance would be key factors in narrowing the £593m trust’s discount. Fund manager Neil Hermon was also sceptical, telling Citywire last October that when Henderson Global Investors (as it was then known) took on the trust in the early 2000s, it had bought back 4% of the equity from November 2002 to 2011. ‘It had little to no impact,’ Hermon said, adding that the effect of buybacks typically wore off in a month and he was concerned that sustained buybacks risked shrinking a trust to ‘irrelevance&# Henderson Smaller is not the only trust to have had a change of heart on buybacks. As Citywire reported yesterday, Schroder Income Growth (SCF) last month bought back some shares for the first time in 16 years, although it has undertaken only one purchase so far. The board said the transaction demonstrated its confidence in the portfolio and confirmed it would continue to buy back shares to enhance asset value per share. It is possible that Henderson Smaller is responding to shareholder pressure. According to Refinitiv data, after wealth manager Evelyn Partners on 8%, its largest backers are value investors Lazard and Allspring Global Investments, which hold 4.4% and 4.1%, and would be keen on any measures to narrow the discount. Since Henderson Smaller first bought back stock on 27 March, shares in the £694m portfolio have risen almost 4%, with the discount narrowing slightly to 14%. In the past three years, the trust has been one of the worst performers in its sector with NAV falling 23% and shareholders suffering a total loss of 30% as a result of the share price discount. Over the same period, the Deutsche Numis Smaller Companies ex-investment companies index has declined 4%. In the March factsheet, Hermon said that the UK smaller company market had quietened down, with flotations tailing off since the first quarter, while weak economic activity has led to subdued corporate earnings growth in 2023 compounded by rising interest costs and a higher corporate tax burden. However, he pointed to the portfolio’s robust balance sheets, meaning its companies would be well-positioned to withstand an economic downturn. Its top holdings are Paragon Banking Group (PAG), housebuilder Bellway (BWY) and construction and infrastructure group Balfour Beatty (BBY), all of which are Citywire Elite stocks held by leading fund managers. |
Posted at 11/3/2015 09:49 by mad foetus Numis recommending HSL for those seeking growing income: hxxp://www.trustnet. |
Posted at 09/2/2015 19:44 by mad foetus fully agree - hsl is a very good performer and when you look at how discounts have narrowed on the likes of Witan and FRCL over the past few years there is no reason for any half decent IT to be trading at more than a nominal discount. this is a great opportunity for both investors and Henderson to take advantage. |
Posted at 15/3/2013 16:49 by davebowler 14 March 2013Neil Hermon, Manager, Henderson Smaller Companies. In recent years the smaller companies sector has proved a great investment. 2012 was no exception; the FTSE Small Cap (ex-investment trusts) index returned 36.29 per cent, more than triple the return of the FTSE 100 index. However, it seems that investors still don't understand the potential that this sector holds. Where the opportunities lie Sectors: Unlike fund managers that focus on large-caps whose index is dominated by a poorly diversified selection of big companies in the oil, gas telecom, banking, pharmaceutical and mining sectors, managers in small-caps have a more diversified selection from which to choose. This is important, as the real opportunities for smaller caps lie in a range of sectors such as industrial, electronics & electrical equipment, software & computer services and support services, which all offer great opportunities for growth. Stocks: Mid and small cap investors rely on managers' stock picking skills, with the aim of identifying companies with a strong business model, sound balance sheets, solid cash flow and have the ability to outperform the market. Last year one of the winners in my portfolio included Anite, a telecoms testing business that greatly benefited from the roll-out of 4G and as a result raised its earnings forecasts several times in the last twelve months. Mergers and acquisitions: Further opportunities for smaller companies include capitalising on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. Global M&A reached its highest level in four years in the final quarter of 2012. Large companies have excess cash on their balance sheets and access to historically cheap financing. This is an encouraging environment for smaller companies, which are likely to benefit as larger companies opportunistically seek out small-scale 'bolt-on' acquisitions, in an effort to enhance their growth prospects. Many of these larger companies are willing to pay a significant premium to the trading price for suitable acquisitions, offering a potential uplift to investment returns. Using investment trusts to reap the benefits of smaller companies Investment trusts boast a number of unique tools which can benefit investors and their fees tend to be lower than Open Ended Investment Companies (OEICs). One of the main benefits is the ability to gear. If done effectively, gearing can significantly increase returns both in terms of growth and income generated from the underlying portfolio. What's more, gearing in the current environment is ideal as borrowing is very cheap, especially for investment trusts. Banks will tend to offer investment trusts money at very competitive rates, currently around 1.5%, which compares very favorably with small to medium cap equities yielding 2% to 3%. That means returns can be significantly enhanced. 2013 and beyond We are currently in a good environment for UK smaller companies, not only because these are geared to the global economy, but also during periods of economic stability investors are able to focus their attention on corporate fundamentals, which are extremely attractive. Following a raft of support measures announced by the European Central Bank in mid-2012, leading economic indicators have signaled a re-acceleration of growth. This growth is moderate versus history, but is positive nonetheless, and is highest among the world's emerging economies. One of the major benefits of investing in UK small caps is their exposure to the global economy. When we aggregate the underlying revenues generated by the companies in our portfolio approximately 58% comes from areas outside of the UK. In the last year we have passed the 10-year anniversary of my tenure as fund manager and the consistent returns (outperforming in 8 of the last 9 financial years) give me confidence that on the whole we are getting things right. However, as a fund manager the work is always ahead of you and clearly hurdles still remain most notably the deleveraging of the financial sector and governments, but on the whole low valuations, strong corporates and our proven stock picking approach leave me feeling optimistic about the years ahead. |
Posted at 18/4/2007 11:12 by geologic The following indexes, mkts & gold stocks are reviewed this week in the full edition of GCRU:Agnico (NYSE & Tor) Altius Minerals (Tor) Anglo American (Nas) Aurizon Mines (Tor & AMEX) Freeport Mcmoran (NYSE) Fronteer Development (Tor) Gold daily (NY) Gold tick chart (NY) Goldcorp (NYSE & Tor) Hecla Mining (NYSE) High River Gold (Tor) Int'l Secs (NYSE) Lihir (Sydney & Nas) Mega Uranium (Tor) Miramar Mng (AMEX & Tor) Paladin Res. (Tor & Sydney) Rio Tinto (NYSE) Seabridge Gold (AMEX & Tor) SGI SGS (A/D line) Teck Cominco (Toronto) TREND INVESTORS USD (NYBOT) Viceroy Explor. (Tor) Xstrata Plc (London & Zurich) Yamana Gold (AMEX & Tor) All charts created with TradeStation by Omega Research 2000. |
Posted at 20/1/2006 09:02 by energyi THE MILLIONAIRE'S FAVORITE AUTHORYou Won't Find W.G. Hill On Any Best Seller Lists, But It's Hard To Find A Millionaire Who Hasn't Read Most Of His $100 "Special Reports". Hill's Low Profile -- The name W.G. Hill isn't bandied around much in the book-publishing world. No literary society has ever discussed any of the two dozen or so volumes this author has produced. But over the last thirty years, in the world of bankers, accountants, high net worth investors and financiers with offshore interests, Hill has been a seminal influence. His most famous book is P.T., or "Perpetual Tourist." Though this title might convey the idea that it's a book about traveling, it isn't. The subject is, how wealthy people can - with proper paperwork - enjoy life more. Its "How to have a good time with your money, but at the same time avoid unwelcome attentions that conspicuous consumption and high profile wealth always bring." These negatives include the unwelcome intrusions of tax collectors, insurance salesman, contingent fee plaintiff's lawyers, alimony seeking ex-wives, kidnappers, burglars. Not to mention every description of con-man. Do these matters concern millionaires? Judging from Hill's book sales, they do, indeed. The original Hill (who could not be found for an interview - EW hears he's in Patagonia doing hands-on research on female female gaucho wranglers - was back in the 1970's a self-publisher who advertised his books as "Special Reports" in the London based Economist and International Herald Tribune. One of his early fans was the newsletter guru, Sir Harry Schultz, who must have made enough beforehand or sold enough books to live well. Sir Harry writes in PT, "I spent my first few years as a tax exile at the Monte Carlo Beach Hotel, interacting with hard-bodied, high maintenance cost divorced women who in their topless bikinis populated Riviera pool sides like motes in the sunshine." Hill's books always offered his personal services to assist any reader to accomplish the goals set out. For instance, his 1975 Lloyd's Report promised the reader would "make serious money without any investment, work or risk." This was two decades before many Lloyd's names did in fact suffer substantial losses. But Hill wrote later, "If people handled their Lloyd's relationships as I suggested (with stop loss insurance) they came out way ahead." Hill charged a hefty fee to introduce new names and get them into Lloyd's as insurance underwriters. Eventually, around 1985 Hill's maneuvers were picked up and thereafter published by Nicholas Pine. Pine was then operating as Milestone Press of Plymouth, England. He was a very minor publisher of books for collectors of ceramics. Their typical press run in the pre-Hill days was a thousand copies. With Hill's books for millionaires soon selling like hot cakes, Milestone hit pay dirt. Pine changed his company's name to Scope International. An ex-employee revealed that at the time he quit, sales of well over 100,000 copies of each Hill book would have been "a low ballpark figure." With ten books being major sellers and a direct mail price of £60 / $100 per book, that means that gross sales of Hill's books passed the 100 million dollar mark some years ago. As marketers who sell direct via advertising and junk-mail that means most revenues go direct to the bottom line. Although book sales figures are not available to the public (through bookstores), this could mean that little known Scope, by publishing the works of a mystery man who disappeared ten years ago, is far and away, the world's most profitable book publisher. But The Profits Just Start With Book Sales -- Each Hill report describes a certain product or lifestyle. If the reader wants to make it a reality, he hires Hill (or more recently a Hill clone at fees up to $10,000 per consultation) to get him up and running. Our informant suggests that twenty per cent of all book buyers sign up for consulting services. Then there are the international seminars at $2000, plus residence and passport programs costing up to $350,000. The Hill books suggest other ways that millionaires can enjoy their money more - by spending it with Scope on "lifestyle enhancing" products and services. The basic premise of PT and all of Hill's books, is that any wealthy person will enjoy life more and protect his assets better by using what Hill calls "five flags." ...MORE: |
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