Edinburgh Investment Share Discussion Threads

[spoole5] 25/1/2023 07:09

Declaration of second interim dividendThe Directors of The Edinburgh Investment Trust plc announce that they have declared a second interim dividend for the year ending 31 March 2023 of 6.40 pence per ordinary share (2022: 6.00p). The dividend is payable on 24 February 2023 to Ordinary Shareholders on the register on 3 February 2023. The shares will be quoted ex-dividend on 2 February 2023.The first interim dividend of 6.40 pence per share was paid on 25 November 2022 to shareholders on the Company's register on 4 November 2022 (ex-dividend date being 3 November 2022).

[boystown] 29/11/2022 17:46

Featured on Master Investor this evening:

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A lot has happened to the £1.2bn Edinburgh Investment Trust (LON: EDIN) in the last few years. In March 2020 the board replaced Invesco’s longstanding manager Mark Barnett after three years of underperformance and put in place a team from Majedie, a firm which was subsequently taken over by Liontrust.

Barnett’s value-based approach had been out of favour for a considerable time, but there were also question marks over some of his stock selection decisions. Once he had been sacked the board took the opportunity to reduce the annual management fee and switch to a tiered charging structure.

It looks like the changes are starting to pay off as James de Uphaugh and Chris Field, who have been running the fund since the removal of Barnett, have done a good job improving the performance. Since March 2020 the trust has generated NAV and shareholder total returns of 56.9% and 66%, significantly ahead of the FTSE All Share total return of 43.3%.

A key recent development has been the re-financing of the expensive 7.75% long-term debt, with the fund issuing £120m of loan notes at an average interest cost of 2.44% and average maturity of 25 years. This cheap source of capital should give it a competitive advantage in the years to come.

A new approach
EDIN offers a diversified portfolio of 40 to 50 listed equities based on fundamental company research. There are no in-built style biases with the fund typically containing a mixture of growth, value and recovery stocks, the aim being to add value regardless of the economic and market conditions.

The stock-driven analysis focuses on the identification of companies with strong and sustainable business models, multiple drivers of returns and quality management teams. It’s a high conviction approach with capital protection a key element, with the manager considering the downside risk for each holding and scaling the position accordingly.

At the end of September the largest holdings included the likes of: Shell, Unilever, BAE, AstraZeneca, Tesco and NatWest. The key sector weightings were retailers, biotech and medical, banks, oil and gas. Overall the historic dividend yield was an attractive 4.2% and the ongoing charges a competitive 0.52%.

Solid footing
Having taken over at the height of the pandemic the first step was to re-balance the portfolio and rebase the dividend to a more sustainable level. The long-term objective is to grow the distributions ahead of inflation with the first interim dividend having recently been increased by 6.7%. A decision is yet to be taken about the total pay-out for the financial year.

James de Uphaugh has put together a well-diversified portfolio with multiple drivers of returns that should be able to withstand the uncertain economic environment. He believes that the inflationary pressures are easing and draws attention to the low valuations that look cheap on pretty much whatever metric you want to use.

The broker Investec believes that the Edinburgh Investment Trust has made solid progress in rebuilding credibility after what was a traumatic period, while stronger foundations bode well for the future. They have a buy rating on the fund and say that if the healthy absolute and relative performance can be maintained then the discount should narrow from the current level of seven percent.

[essentialinvestor] 16/9/2022 14:05

In their last report both MSLH and EZJ highlighted as examples of great
businesses taking market share in their respective sectors, their share prices
since may tell a different tale.

[steve3sandal] 15/6/2022 23:14

I suspect Cazoo is the stub following the take private of Daily Mail. The Board haven’t covered themselves in glory for a long time. From the outside even I could see that the previous manager had gone wrong in his stock picking. At YE the NAV is the same as 2015 and the Trust is £200m smaller after buybacks. Chair stepping down is more tenure than any admission of, well, add your own word.
But I do like what JDU has done and I keep adding when I see the portfolio and share price dips. Liontrust takeover of the manager promised a higher level of promotion but not happened yet. The rebased dividend won’t help Edin reissue shares at a premium which they aspire but they might trade close to NAV with 3 years of JDU outperformance of the All Share and a quieter macro background. One of my larger holdings.

[topvest] 15/6/2022 20:42

Just taken a look at the Annual Report. Majedie seem to be performing as expected really; slightly above the benchmark. Not sure why they have £2m in Cazoo at the bottom end of the portfolio. Seems a bit odd for their "value style".

I can't help thinking that the board could have kept the dividend flat again really, maybe with a special dividend again, as they have the reserves to do do. Lost opportunity now as the record has gone - will take 19 more years to get it back!

I also think the Board should be making more of the 130+ year history. Again, a missed marketing opportunity. To be honest, I am not that impressed with the Board - they seem a bit light weight for such a historical institution.

[chc15] 27/5/2022 14:00

Another purchase by James. Confidence returning to mkt, this has held up well. I have bought this, TMPL, MYL and 3i, all solid.

[melloteam] 22/5/2022 17:06

Mello2022, the popular three-day Investor event takes place on 24TH-26TH MAY at the Clayton Hotel & Conference Centre, Chiswick, W4. The breakdown of the three days is as follows:

Tuesday 24th May, 9am - 6pm - Mello Investment Trusts and Funds (WE ARE GIVING AWAY 20 FREE TICKETS TO THE TRUST AND FUNDS EVENT - THE FREE CODE IS FIRST20TF)

Wednesday 25th & Thursday 26th May, 9am - 6pm - Smaller Growth and Mid-Cap Companies (Tickets for 1 day are £115 and tickets for 2 days are £189. To get 50% off, use code MMTADVFN50).

There will be a variety of Trusts and Funds attending. There will also be educational sessions and keynote speakers such as Lord John Lee, Andy Brough, Rosemary Banyard, Clarke Carlisle and Gervais Williams.

For more information, please visit the event webpage: Https://melloevents.com/mello2022/

[chc15] 19/5/2022 12:00

Have added to this today at 5.95, also added to TMPL and 3i.

[bluemango] 27/4/2022 08:58

Nice to see an increased dividend, now 6.4p a quarter, translates to 4.1% yield if they maintained that level for all four payments - but surely there's a good prospect of a larger final in July (as in previous practice) to boost it still further.

[chc15] 27/1/2022 14:59

True, but it's held up v well, good signs.

[essentialinvestor] 24/1/2022 13:39

Looking for a bit lower, whether that will happen.

[spoole5] 15/1/2022 12:31

Started to buyback

[chc15] 04/1/2022 10:32

And a very good start to the year, this is also a core holding of mine, along with DIG and TMPL.

[steve3sandal] 01/1/2022 19:27

Thanks for your contribution here, interesting tale and I think lots could benefit from selling poor companies and buying good ITs. My recent position here was started a year earlier when I felt Barnett was supporting some of Woodford's blue sky deals and his position and performance became untenable, and the discount opened up. I got some decent entry points and flagged a number of things to the Board though I'm sure that was incidental. I'm very impressed by James DeUpaugh and they've done a great job getting the NAV where it is. Sadly the discount which appeared under previous management is still with us but I'm hoping this will change. An improvement to UK sentiment and the takeover of Majedie by Liontrust may bring about more buyers than sellers. Also at its size Edin should be looking at a zero discount control policy.

[chc15] 22/11/2021 13:13

Yes seems just ok, they should do something abt the discount, buy backs possibly.

[ec2] 22/11/2021 10:03

Pleasing interims today. Continuing outperformance, this time 1.8pct. over the last 6 months. Trust seems overdue a re-rating as it trades on an over 8pct. discount to NAV compared to others in the UK Equity Income and Growth sector that are on sub 1pct. discounts eg. Merchants, City of London, Dunedin, JPM Claverhouse. The refinancing of the hugely expensive 100 mln. debenture down from 7.75% to average debt financing of 2.44% will also be further beneficial to performance going forward.

[essentialinvestor] 08/11/2021 19:20

EDIN was overdue some catch up, which is why I highlighted it recently.
Now XD as well.

[andycapp1] 08/11/2021 19:13

Yes saw that. NAV is going great guns. I own Majedie too. Worth a look. Almost 5% yield and same manager albeit invested in a range of their funds.

[chc15] 04/11/2021 16:37

Up on the ex div day, nice.

[essentialinvestor] 01/11/2021 10:09

Was way overdue a move.

[chc15] 29/10/2021 11:49

Topped up earlier here, along with IPU

[essentialinvestor] 27/10/2021 15:59

XD for 6 pence next THursday, managed to add a small amount under £6.16

[essentialinvestor] 26/10/2021 09:53

Also gives some MCX exposure which should help growth and they can
hold a % in oversees equities.

[rcturner2] 26/10/2021 09:17

Yes I agree, it is a pretty bog standard trust, but it does what it says on the tin, it gives you exposure to decent stocks at a discount with a steady dividend.