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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lazard World | WTR | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00% | 302.50 | 01:00:00 |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 302.50 | 302.50 |
| Top Posts |
|---|
Posted at 02/8/2016 13:07 by davebowler Edison;Valuation: Opportunity from double discount WTR’s managers note that the level of discount on the fund’s holdings is currently at its widest level since the global financial crisis, averaging 28.1% at 30 June. WTR’s own discount to NAV at 1 August stood at 11.8%, narrower than the averages over one, three and five years. Applying this discount to the portfolio discount gives a combined discount of 36.7%, meaning that each £1 invested buys £1.58 worth of assets based on underlying NAVs. WTR’s discount narrowed sharply after the announcement of its new distribution policy at the end of June, suggesting the move has been well received by shareholders. Investment process: Seeking hidden value with catalysts WTR is managed by the largely New York-based Discounted Assets Strategies team at Lazard Asset Management. The six-strong team is led by Kun Deng and seeks to build a portfolio of discounted investments with identifiable catalysts for revaluation. The team also has access to the macro and industry views of the wider Lazard group globally. There are broadly four stages to choosing investments for the WTR portfolio: Screening: the universe of closed-end funds, investment trusts and holding companies is monitored to identify those that are trading at discounts that are high relative to peers or to history, or situations where there may be opportunities from short-term volatility. Macro analysis: potential investments identified through screening are assessed to see if market and economic conditions favour a narrowing of the discount. Fundamental analysis: stocks that pass the first two screens are analysed to assess the competitive landscape and the quality of management and governance, and to gain an understanding of whether their underlying assets are also trading at an unwarranted discount. Catalysts for revaluation: aiming to avoid assets that are ‘cheap for a reason’, potential investments must have an identifiable catalyst, such as a tender offer or restructuring or the potential for an asset class to return to favour. The team is willing to engage with the companies it invests in, in order to encourage initiatives that may help unlock value for shareholders. Examples of recent engagement with holdings include encouraging HarbourVest Global Private Equity1and VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund1 to move their listings to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, thus qualifying them for index inclusion and boosting liquidity. Normally an investment would be made with the expectation of a catalyst occurring within 12 months, although holdings may remain in the portfolio for the longer term. Having identified suitable investments, the team will reaffirm the value opportunity and downside risk before investing. The managers may make use of hedging, usually by taking short positions in ETFs, in order to mitigate market risk. During FY16, WTR held short positions in ETFs linked to the NASDAQ Biotechnology and MSCI China indices. Currency exposure is not usually hedged. Current portfolio positioning At the FY16 year-end (31 March) WTR had 37 holdings. This is a slightly shorter stock list than its peers, but gives access to a diversified portfolio of 1,000+ underlying investments. The fund has a bias towards Asian and emerging markets, with c 44% of the portfolio (adjusted for cash) invested in these areas (including c 10% in Japan) at 30 June. Europe is the next-largest allocation, at c 29% (including c 7% in the UK). The US exposure, which has always been broadly less than 35%, has fallen most over the last 12 months to stand at 20% at 30 June (Exhibit 2). Given that under its new MSCI ACWI ex-US benchmark, the fund is informally limited to a maximum US allocation of c 20%, it is reasonable to expect this may fall further. Geographical exposures are on a look-through basis. While much of the portfolio has remained the same over the past six to nine months, there have been a few notable changes. Naspers, a South African-listed holding company, is a recent addition and is now the fund’s largest position. Naspers invests in tech and media companies and its largest holding is a 34% stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent. WTR’s manager notes that this holding allows the fund to access the growth in China’s new economy at a substantial discount. Based on 20 July share prices and exchange rates, Naspers’ Tencent stake was worth £57bn while its own market capitalisation was £52bn. Another new holding is Tetragon Financial Group (TFG), a UK-listed closed-end fund with a diversified portfolio of income-generating alternative assets. WTR has also increased its position in VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF); both TFG and VOF are now just outside the top 10 holdings. The most significant recent exit was from BB Biotech1 previously the largest holding. WTR’s managers continue to favour the biotech sector (International Biotechnology Trust1 is a top 20 position), but sold out of the Swiss-listed specialist after it moved from a double-digit discount to a premium. Allianz Technology Trust was also sold in the second half of the 2016 financial year. |
Posted at 31/7/2015 11:42 by davebowler Westhouse note'The World Trust Fund has, over the last few years, had an underweight position in US equities. This underweight position, coupled with the average net exposure of around 80%, had hurt performance relative to the MSCI All Country World Index, even though the fund performed in line with the average global growth fund in our index over both a three and five-year period. According to Deng, the current c.13% discount for WTR (Figure 4) implies a combined discount of over 30% (including underlying discounts). |
Posted at 13/2/2015 09:43 by davebowler Investec;World Trust Fund (WTR) interims for Q4, 2014 ¢ Returns: NAV +5.9% to $4.39 in USD terms vs +1% in the MSCI All Countries World Index. Over the same period the share price rose 9.5%. ¢ Discount: The discount to NAV (in Sterling) at the end of the period was 12.9%. ¢ Underlying: Average weighted discount of underlying holdings at period-end 21.2%. ¢ Gearing: Leverage stood at 5.6% at the WTR level at 31/12/14. ¢ Dividend: Since the period end the Fund paid a dividend of 0.50p per share on 16 January 2015 to shareholders on its register on 19 December 2014. Investec Insight ¢ The manager has successfully navigated a very volatile period in the markets, bringing the one year return to 10.2% compared to 4.2% of the MSCI World in $ terms and a -3.9% return of the MSCI All Countries World Ex USA. ¢ Access Fund Detail Here |
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