Monks lagged its benchmark a little over the year to 30 April 2016 – the first year that a new investment team, led by Charles Plowden, has been in charge of the portfolio. Monks’ net asset value total return was minus 0.4% compared to a total return of 0.5% for the FTSE World Index (in sterling terms). The share price total return for the same period was minus 1.3%. Earnings per share for the financial year, 2.31p, were notably lower than the 4.74p of the previous year. A final dividend of 1p (3.45p) makes for a total dividend for the year of 1.5p (3.95p).
The managers’ report says many of the top contributors to the fund’s performance came from their enthusiasm for the growth of the US economy – such as Royal Caribbean Cruises, Markel, the specialist insurance provider, and Martin Marietta, a leading US building aggregates supplier, and their enthusiasm for technology – such as the internet giants Amazon.com, Facebook and Alphabet (formerly Google). Elsewhere Ryanair, Europe’s leading low cost airline, produced exceptional operating and share price performance as did Japan’s M3, which provides online information for doctors; both demonstrating that great investments can be found within unpromising economies.
Not surprisingly, the few energy companies the portfolio did own, such as Ultra Petroleum and Inpex, performed poorly and both have been sold.
MNKS : Monks lags its benchmark