Blackrock Smaller Share Discussion Threads

[lozzer69] 26/1/2023 12:50

Bought in today for first time as the discount seems unwarranted compared to Throgmorton trust from Blackrock. Also 2.5 pc yield is a bonus.

[henryatkin] 16/11/2022 10:46

I sold in Feb & recently bought back at 30% discount to the 12 month high & 38% to the all time high. If the price falls to offer me a 50% discount to the all time high I'll buy more. Can't see that happening though with the US showing 3 months of lower inflation & rising manufacturing. Rates and energy are still a worry .here.

[malcolmmm] 21/7/2022 16:46

Hum time to buy? any thoughts

[cartan1blue] 25/6/2022 14:02

Should buyback.

[malcolmmm] 13/6/2022 17:34

Yep economies the world over are in a hole, can only get worse

[arja] 09/5/2022 09:28

tempted to short this one but such a big discount to NAV and that suggests there must be better ones to short . But FTSE index is in a clear downtrend

[chc15] 06/5/2022 10:40

New buying this today, ex div next week

[scottishfield] 18/3/2022 16:22

This remains undervalued. A bot selling today??

[malcolmmm] 07/3/2022 08:39

Looking to get back in here at around 1000

[malcolmmm] 24/2/2022 15:54

Bagain here at 8% discount

[malcolmmm] 07/1/2022 16:19

I am also spread betting IMPAX asset management. Any here recommend a fund or trust ?

[malcolmmm] 04/1/2022 12:07

Oh right ,nice rise. I can see these approaching 3000p later on this year. I am leveraged x3 on these, worked last year brilliantly 300% profit. trusts funds are the safest way to spread bet imo in these turbulent days.

[its the oxman] 04/1/2022 10:01

Yougov been very strong, helping drive this to nav.

[malcolmmm] 23/12/2021 15:45

They all have Watches of Switzerland in their portfolio

[malcolmmm] 23/12/2021 15:43

Strange, perhaps the other two will catch up at some point

[its the oxman] 23/12/2021 08:45

Not sure why this is at nav but likes of hsl and jmi have sizeable discounts.

[speedsgh] 22/11/2021 14:31

Some interesting in today's update...



... The current environment continues to present us with challenges and the market remains vulnerable to spikes in volatility. However, we see the current challenges as an opportunity for this strategy. While there are many concerns around supply chain issues and rising cost inflation, these issues are supply-side rather than demand-driven, and we believe that a supply-side issue in a capitalist market promotes a supply-side response, i.e. more investment. We would be much more concerned if the issues were demand-led, which would raise the spectre of stagflation.

Ultimately, we believe we own well-invested firms with pricing power, in markets where latent demand is high, so we think that we are in the right place. There is no financial crisis, consumers don’t have masses of debt, corporates are well capitalised and banks have capital. We don’t believe any rate rises will derail the recovery, and most importantly we are confident that we own market leading businesses. We thank shareholders for their continued support.

[its the oxman] 31/8/2021 21:53

5% discount yet to close

[malcolmmm] 08/7/2021 17:07

Yep still cheap

[its the oxman] 24/6/2021 08:42

Through 2000p today and still at a discount.

[its the oxman] 28/5/2021 11:17

Whose gonna buy the first shares over 2000p. Been a decent performer but still trading at a discount. Has often been at nav in the past.

[malcolmmm] 19/3/2021 00:47

Top 20 shares held

YouGov Survey data and specialist data analytics 21,298 2.9
Avon Rubber Safety masks 15,358 2.1
Breedon Construction materials 14,506 2.0
IntegraFin Platform for financial advisers 13,696 1.9
Games Workshop Developer, publisher and manufacturer of table top games 13,164 1.8
Impax Asset Management Asset management services 12,904 1.8
Watches of Switzerland Retailer of luxury watches 12,561 1.7
Treatt Development and manufacture of ingredients for the flavour and
fragrance industry 12,094 1.7
Stock Spirits Group Branded spirits mainly in Eastern Europe 11,946 1.6
Pets at Home Pet services and products 11,418 1.6
CVS Group Operator of veterinary surgeries 11,345 1.5
Team17 Video game developer and publisher 11,218 1.5
Chemring Group Advanced technology products and services for the aerospace,
defence and security markets 11,120 1.5
DiscoverIE Specialist components for electronics applications 11,046 1.5
Qinetiq Group British multi-national defence technology company 10,840 1.5
Liontrust Asset Management Asset management services 10,755 1.5
Ergomed Pharmaceuticals services provider 10,716 1.5
Central Asia Metals Mining operations in Kazakhstan and North Macedonia 10,356 1.4
Learning Technologies E-learning services 10,345 1.4
Calisen Leading owner and manager of utility meters 10,254 1.4
Twenty largest investments 246,940 33.8
Remaining investments 482,978 66.2
Total 729,918 100.0
Details of the full portfolio are available on the Company’s website at black

[malcolmmm] 09/3/2021 00:01

Yes great I did top up on the dips as I believe this is a low risk high performance trust as above states

[scottishfield] 08/3/2021 16:05

Nice prompt rebound today. Good.

[xtrmntr] 28/2/2021 09:54

The UK stock market has been a disappointment for years, but with a vaccination roll-out among the best in the world, and the possibility of the UK attracting more foreign investment now the Brexit transition period has ended, there are reasons to be optimistic that Britain might outdo expectations if reopening the economy goes to plan.The UK has performed poorly partly because it has high exposure to older industries such as oil and gas, banking and mining and little exposure to high-growth technology companies. But if you look down the market cap scale there are, it seems, attractive investment options. "I'd say the UK is one of the few areas of value remaining in global markets, alongside Japan, so certainly not an area investors should ignore or give up on," says Rob Morgan, pension and investment analyst at Charles Stanley. However, the next 12-month consensus earnings for the Numis Smaller Companies Index + AIM ex Investment Companies is currently negative, highlighting the number of troubled companies out there and the importance of skilled stock picking. UK smaller companies funds have performed better than their peers, both over the past year and over the long term. Over the year to 18 February, investment trusts in the Association of Investment Companies UK Smaller Companies sector returned an average of 8 per cent, compared with a 2 per cent drop for the UK All Companies sector. And over the last 65 years, UK small caps, as measured by the Numis Smaller Companies Index + AIM ex Investment Companies, have outperformed the FTSE All-Share by about 4 per cent a year, according to BlackRock's analysis of data from Datastream.The investment trust structure is particularly good for smaller company funds, given the sometimes limited liquidity of small-cap stocks. Within the UK smaller companies investment trust sector, BlackRock has a well-respected team and two investment trusts; BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC) and BlackRock Throgmorton Trust (THRG). Both are in the top five performers in terms of net asset value (NAV) returns over the past five years, according to Winterflood data. Both trusts have access to BlackRock's UK emerging companies research team, which undertakes about 700 meetings a year to spot under-researched companies with the best growth potential. The two trusts used to have the same manager, Mike Prentis, who handed the reins of BlackRock Throgmorton to Dan Whitestone in 2018, while Roland Arnold took over the management of BlackRock Smaller Companies in 2019, having been at the firm for two decades. A key difference between the two is the size of company they invest in. While four of the top 10 holdings in the trusts cross over, Throgmorton tends to hold larger companies, with 65 per cent of the portfolio having a market capitalisation of over £1bn at the end of November. The average market cap for companies in BlackRock Smaller Companies, meanwhile, is about half that of its sister fund at £600m, according to Morgan. BlackRock Throgmorton has had better performance, particularly over the past year. Whitestone benefited over the crisis from taking short positions. The trust also has high gearing, which was over 20 per cent on 18 February. While Whitestone has been extremely successful, we, like Morgan, currently prefer BlackRock Smaller Companies, a member of the IC Top 100 Funds list, because the managers may be able to add more value further down the market cap spectrum. On 18 January it traded at a discount to of 4.4 per cent to NAV, making it better priced than BlackRock Throgmorton, which traded at a 2.2 per cent premium. BlackRock Smaller Companies also has significantly less gearing at 6 per cent, no short positions and no performance fee.Fund positioning BlackRock Smaller Companies may not have performed as well against its peers in the past six months as it has over the longer term, but its net assets have risen 6 per cent – in line with its benchmark, Numis Smaller Companies ex Investment Companies. Arnold says he aims to find the 'hidden gems' within the small cap universe, investing in high-quality growth companies that are able to shape their own futures regardless of the wider economic environment.The trust's largest sector allocation is industrials at 26.7 per cent, ahead of 23.7 per cent for its benchmark. The trust's second-largest sector allocation is financials at 18.4 per cent – broadly in line with the benchmark. Technology and Healthcare make up 9.9 per cent and 6.4 per cent of assets, respectively. The trust had sharp losses in last year's sell-off owing to relatively high exposure to the UK domestic economy, through both consumer and travel and leisure companies. But Arnold believes a number of his holdings are poised to benefit when the economy opens up. In his latest interim report he gives pub groups Youngs (YNGA) and Fuller Smith & Turner (FSTA) as examples of companies that have dealt with the challenges of the pandemic well, and should see their competitive positions enhanced after lockdown. Arnold also purchased new holdings in City Pub Group (CPC) and JD Wetherspoons (JDW) last year, when he believed they had become very attractively priced.Shares in UK housebuilder Vistry (VTY), flexible office provider Workspace (WKP) and exhibition firm Hyve (HYVE) have also been detractors to performance, but Arnold believes all are in a strong position to benefit from a recovery. The trust does not provide a full list of its holdings, but the latest half yearly report showed its largest 20 holdings made up 34 per cent of the fund, so individual company risk is reasonably low. On the more positive side, the trust also holds a number of the stock market's favourite names. YouGov (YOU), Watches of Switzerland (WOSG) and drug development service firm Ergomed (ERGO) were its top top three holdings at the end of December, with Impax Asset Management (IPX) also in the top 10, whose share price has doubled over the past year along with the rise in interest in sustainable investing. The increase in takeover activity for small-cap companies, notably from private equity and overseas bidders, could prove a boon to performance this year. Cloud communications software specialist Imimobile (IMO) and smart meter installation and asset owner Calisen (CLSN) are two examples of companies whose share prices soared toward the end of last year following takeover bids.The outlook in the UK is still very uncertain, as new strains of the virus threaten vaccine efficacy. Smaller companies can be more financially vulnerable than the market stalwarts, and the trust is only suitable for investors with a high risk tolerance and a long-term investment horizon. This trust has not had the best performance in the sector, but it has a large portfolio of resilient companies that looks well positioned for a gradual opening of the economy. Buy.