EUT : European Inv Trust takes defensive stance
European Investment Trust beat its benchmark, the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index, by 1.1% in total return terms over the year that ended on 30 September 2014, producing a return on net assets of 6.4%. Furthermore the discount narrowed from 10.9% to 6.5% and so the return to shareholders was 12.1%. The final dividend was maintained at 14p per share (revenue was impacted by the strength of the Pound relative to the Euro) but the special dividend was lower at 1p vs. 4p for the equivalent period in 2012/13.
The manager’s report doesn’t give much information on the stocks that contributed to their performance. They do say though that they have deliberately made the portfolio more defensive, in part by switching the geographic allocation away from the periphery of Europe and increasing the allocation to Switzerland.