Henderson Global Trust has published its interim results covering the six months ended 31 July 2015. Over this period the net asset value total return of 1.6% matched that of its benchmark, MSCI All Country World Index (in sterling terms, total return), but a small widening of the discount left the fund with a return to shareholders of -1.2%. Two dividends of 2.5p each have been declared for the period.
The manager says the best performing stocks in the first half of the year have been companies that are able to deliver above-average earnings growth independent of the economy. These include secular growth companies that operate in defensive end markets (Dollar General, Japan Tobacco and Crown Holdings); companies that have some self-help in the form of new product launches or a restructuring of the cost base (Rentokil Initial and BRP); financial companies that benefit from rising interest rates (Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Lloyds Banking Group); and stocks that could potentially be acquired (Syngenta and Synergy Pharmaceuticals).
Weaker performers were stocks that are more dependent on economic growth (Rexel and Western Digital); and especially companies depending on growth in emerging markets (Wharf Holdings, Singapore Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Freeport-McMoran and Volkswagen). The other underperformer worth highlighting is United Continental, which suffered from investors taking profits following the exceptional strength in 2014. They continue to see significant upside in United Continental and the stock started to outperform again in the last two months of the half year.
HGL : Henderson Global matches benchmark in first half