Middlefield Canadian’s results for 2014 reflect the effect of falling oil prices and subdued commodity prices on the Canadian economy – showing a share price return of 2.5% and a net asset value based return of 0.2% (2.8% on a currency adjusted basis), compared to returns of 2.4% and 1.2% for the Fund’s benchmark and the FTSE All Share Index, respectively. The Board are forecasting dividends of 1.25p per quarter for 2015.
They switched some of their energy exposure into industrial companies during the year. This included the purchase of an investment in Canadian National Railway Company which subsequently hiked its dividend by 25%.
The fund took advantage of its new freedom to invest outside Canada by increasing its allocation to U.S. securities from approximately 12% to 18%.#
MCT : Middlefield Canadian diversifying its portfolio