British Empire Share Discussion Threads

[1nf3rn0] 01/7/2016 00:09

Elliot hedge fund has built up over 5% in recent days. I wonder if BTEM is another one the Rothchilds are eyeing up for their trust RCP?

[davebowler] 06/4/2016 11:00

4/Apr NAV
Debentures at market value: 530.21 pence

[topvest] 22/11/2015 19:43

I'm keeping faith. If you look at page 7 the graph tells it all really - for 7 years "Growth" has out-performed "Value" which is the longest period possibly ever. When this reverses, BTEM will no doubt start to out-perform again given that they are value investors. Might even add some more.

[skyship] 10/7/2015 11:49

EI - sadly BTEM does look to be 2yrs of wasted time - still, I recall db is doing well elsewhere, including the climbing Private Equity trusts, so one flat-liner an affordable passenger perhaps!

[essentialinvestor] 10/7/2015 10:47

The great performance continues! - irony intended.

[davebowler] 25/6/2015 10:21

It is announced that the un--audited Net Asset Value per Ordinary share (inclusive of accumulated
income) of British Empire Securities and General Trust plc, an investment trust managed by
Asset Value Investors Limited, at the close of business on 23rd June 2015 was as follows:

Net Asset Value -- Debentures at par value: 585.60 pence
Net Asset Value -- Debentures at market value: 582.43 pence

Capita Asset Services

24 June 2015

[davebowler] 04/6/2015 10:17

Net Asset Value per Ordinary share (inclusive of accumulated
income) of British Empire Securities and General Trust plc, an investment trust managed by
Asset Value Investors Limited, at the close of business on 02nd June 2015 was as follows:

Net Asset Value -- Debentures at par value: 597.99 pence

[davebowler] 12/3/2015 12:06

hxxp://www.british-empire.co.uk/pdfs/british_empire_2015_mar.pdf

[essentialinvestor] 13/2/2015 16:23

These used to trade at a premium from memory, a long time ago.

Not sure why underlying NAV would now begin to close significantly at this
stage of the cycle?.

[tiltonboy] 13/2/2015 14:27

I like the management, but I do not use the double discount as a measure!

[skyship] 13/2/2015 14:14

Strewth - that's rather bizarre surely...

[tiltonboy] 13/2/2015 13:16

SKYSHIP,

They value some of the family controlled businesses at NAV rather than the underlying share price.

[skyship] 13/2/2015 12:40

"Average discount to NAV of underlying holdings is 25%"!!!!

Looking at the portfolio that stat just doesn't seem to stack up; seems totally wrong to my mind...will have to look further...

[davebowler] 13/2/2015 09:49

hxxp://www.british-empire.co.uk/pdfs/british_empire_2015_feb.pdf

Average discount to NAV of underlying holdings is 25%.Added to that BTEM's share price is at a 11% discount to its NAV so we are buying its portfolio in effect at a 33% discount.

[davebowler] 17/12/2014 12:08

Winterfloods;
British Empire’s NAV rose 6.8% in its financial year to 30 September 2014 compared with a 5.1%
increase for its lead benchmark, the MSCI All Country World ex US index. The Morningstar
Investment Trust Global index and the MSCI AC World index were up by 9.2% and 11.8%
respectively, benefiting from the strong performance of the US market. The largest contributors
to the fund’s performance in the financial year were; Investor AB, Vivendi, Hyundai preference
shares, NB Private Equity and Jardine Matheson. Conversely the largest detractors were Wm
Morrison, Dogan Holdings, Mitra Energy, Dundee Corporation and Immofinanz. The NAV also
benefited by 0.8% from buybacks.
British Empire’s portfolio saw a pick‐up in corporate activity during the year, which led to an
increase in the level of turnover in the portfolio. This is estimated to be 60% compared with 40%
historically. Seven holdings were sold completely during the year, equivalent to 12% of the
portfolio, while nineteen new investments have been made. The weighted average discount on
the portfolio was 28.6% at the end of September compared with 28.4% a year earlier
The largest area of investment remains European Holding companies, which includes Investor AB,
GBL and Sofina. Closed ended funds accounted for 30% of the portfolio at the year end, with
listed private equity funds such as HarbourVest Global Private Equity and LMS Capital. The fund’s
liquidity varied significantly over the period, with a range of 1.5% to 15.1%. It stood at 9% in early
November. Since the year end, the fund has hedged part of its exposure to the Japanese Yen.
The fund’s ongoing charge increased in the year to 0.90% compared with 0.69% in the previous
year. This reflects the management fee change from 0.6% to 0.7% of net assets and other
regulatory driven costs.
British Empire has seen its discount tighten this year due to a pick‐up in its performance and an
active buyback programme. However, it is still trading at a wider discount than its peers (10% vs.
6%) and we believe that it continues to offer a value opportunity, particularly when the
underlying discount is taken into consideration as well.

[essentialinvestor] 23/11/2014 18:04

If the discount to NAV is so wide across many of their investments at
this stage of the cycle, what happens when the cycle turns?,
surely they just get wider.

[topvest] 23/11/2014 16:47

Think that's a bit harsh. They manage this investment trust pretty well. About time for some better investment returns though. Also, a bit disappointed that they let their 26 year dividend increase record slip. I think they should have kept a very small increase to keep this record intact as they can certainly afford to do so. It will take at least 27 years to get back to where they were in terms of this record so a tad short sighted in my view!

[davebowler] 01/8/2014 08:41

Yes its bad when a company has a help line manned by people who don't know their own products.

[praipus] 11/7/2014 18:46

Buying there own shares back lol


Because?

a) No one else will buy them?
b) They can't find anything in the investment universe worth buying?
c) They are incompetent?

If they really have spare cash give it back to the patient loyal share holders in a dividend or return of capital IMHO.

Asset Value Investors....lol should be Asset De-Value Investors.

Sorry this outburst is because of being poorly handled over the phone by both BTEM and Asset value Investors when I a shareholder made some quite basic enquiries about the debentures and was basically lied to. Trust me some of these people do not know their capital structure or what they are doing.

[davebowler] 07/5/2014 15:02

Wins;
This fund is a highly specialised investment trust both in terms of its investment approach and the
nature of its portfolio. The fund is managed by John Pennink and Joe Bauernfreund of Asset Value
Investors (AVI), a boutique that focuses on identifying value opportunities amongst asset backed
companies. Their emphasis is on companies with defensive earnings profiles, strong balance
sheets, and high dividend yields. The portfolio is focused with around 40 holdings that include
holding companies, both in Europe and Asia, closed-ended funds, particularly listed private equity
funds, and property companies.
British Empire has a strong long-term performance record with the fund's NAV up 162% over the
last ten years compared with a rise of 122% for the MSCI World and 130% for the MSCI AC
World ex US index. However, more recent performance has been disappointing with the fund
underperforming over the last five years due to its value style and high levels of cash. This has
resulted in the fund's discount widening out to 15%, its widest level in nearly 14 years.
It is difficult at present to find value in the investment trust sector. Discounts are at historically
narrow levels, with many funds trading on a premium or around NAV. British Empire is an
exception, being one of the few large liquid funds that is available on a mid teens discount. This
rating reflects the fund's recent performance record and the out-of-favour nature of its value
approach. We believe that this presents a considerable value opportunity, particularly when the
underlying portfolio discount of 26% is considered. Recent performance has picked up and the
fund was the best performing global investment trust in the first quarter of this year. If this could
be sustained we believe that British Empire could be re-rated. In short, we believe the current
discount of 14% provides an attractive entry point to a fund with an experienced management team
with a differentiated value approach.

[davebowler] 29/4/2014 13:18

NAV 25th April 2014 :

Net Asset Value -- Debentures at par value: 568.20 pence
Net Asset Value -- Debentures at market value: 565.78 pence

[davebowler] 08/4/2014 16:07

Winterflood;
British Empire is a highly specialised investment trust both in terms of its investment approach and the nature of its portfolio. The fund is managed by John Pennink and Joe Bauernfreund of Asset Value Investors (AVI), a boutique that focuses on identifying value opportunities amongst asset backed companies. Their emphasis is on companies with defensive earnings profiles, strong balance sheets and high dividend yields. The estimated weighted average discount of the portfolio's underlying holdings is 26% at present and AVI believes that there is 24% upside from potential discount compression. The portfolio is focused with around 40 holdings that include holding companies, both in Europe and Asia, closed-ended funds, particularly listed private equity funds, and property companies.



British Empire has a strong long-term performance record with the fund's NAV up 162% over the last ten years compared with a rise of 123% for the MSCI World and 129% for the MSCI AC World ex US index. However, more recent performance has been disappointing with the fund underperforming over the last five years due to its value style and high levels of cash. This has resulted in the fund's discount widening to 14%, its widest level in nearly 14 years.



Winterflood View

It is difficult at present to find value in the investment trust sector. Discounts are at historically narrow levels, with many funds trading on a premium or around NAV. British Empire is an exception, being one of the few large liquid funds that is available on a mid-teens discount. This rating reflects the fund's recent performance record and the out-of-favour nature of its value approach. We believe that this presents a considerable value opportunity, particularly when the underlying portfolio discount of 26% is considered. Recent performance has picked up and the fund was the best performing global investment trust in the first quarter of this year. If this could be sustained we believe that British Empire could be re-rated. In short, we believe the current discount of 14% provides an attractive entry point into a fund with an experienced management team with a differentiated value approach.

[skyship] 26/2/2014 17:02

P - As you know, there are threads occupied by people worth reading and sometimes following. My best investment ideas have come from suggestions made on ADVFN B/b threads - the best of course being the SHA thread where I first read of ACD, DSC & HPEQ...

[praipus] 26/2/2014 15:12

Will have a look at CDI, I never listen to what people say on BB's:-)