Ian Hargreaves, former lead manager of Invesco Asia Dragon (IAD), will retire from Invesco Fund Managers Limited next March after more than 30 years with the firm. Hargreaves was lead manager of the former Invesco Asia Trust from March 2011 to May 2024 before sharing the role with Fiona Yang, who will continue in her position as lead co-manager alongside Marc Ye until Hargreaves’ retirement on 31 March. Hargreaves began his career in Hong Kong joining LGT Asset Management in 1994, which was bought by Invesco in 1998. He returned to the UK in January 2005 and joined its Asian Equities team in Henley and has served as co-head of Asian & Emerging Market Equities team. The IAD board thanked him for his stewardship of the company’s portfolio and said the the investment strategy would remain unchanged. Over 10 years the £969m Asia Pacific equity income trust has generated a total shareholder return of 222% ranking it second out of five listed funds in the sector.
Matthew Read, senior analyst at QuotedData, said: “Ian Hargreaves has long been associated with Invesco Asia Dragon, so his departure may feel like the end of an era. However, he has worked alongside Fiona Yang since 2022, with Yang taking over as lead manager in 2024. With the reins already handed over, this feels like a natural time for Ian to step back altogether and the remaining transition should be smooth. We wish him well in his retirement when it comes next year.”
Supermarket Income REIT (SUPR) shares have re-rated in response to the strategic “transformation” made since the start of last year, the company said in annual results today. Shares in the £1.1bn real estate investment trust rose 1.8% to 84p, narrowing the gap to net tangible assets (NTA) of 87.5p per share to 4%. That compares to a 15% discount in March last year when the shares stood at 75p compared to NTA of 88p. Internalising fund management had cut the cost ratio from 13% to 9.2% in the year to 30 June, releasing more money for dividends that are set to grow by at least 2% a year from 2027, helped by a portfolio enlarged by the expanded joint venture with Blue Owl and a £100m equity raise this summer. For the latest year dividends rose 1% from 6.1p to 6.2p per share, with cover for the pay-out falling to 93% from 98% as refinancing costs temporarily knocked earnings per share by 4.1% to 5.7p from 6p last year. The shares yield 7.4%.
Matthew Read said: “Supermarket Income REIT has undergone considerable change over the past 18 months and these results demonstrate the scale of its ambitions. The portfolio has grown to £2bn, the Blue Owl joint venture has expanded rapidly and costs continue to fall, with the EPRA cost ratio down to 9.2%. With the proceeds of July’s equity raise already deployed, SUPR needs to show that it can convert this growth into higher earnings and deliver on its commitment to increase the dividend by at least 2% a year. The grocery property market remains supportive and SUPR appears to have plenty of opportunities to grow within it.”
Nippon Active Value (NAVF) has expressed disappointment at the wide underperformance delivered in the first half of the year but retains conviction in its manager’s activist approach to Japan’s undervalued smaller companies. Interim results for the six months to 30 June 2026 showed an investment return of just 5.2% versus the 17.7% rally in the MSCI Japan Small Cap index as AI and defence stocks. NAVF holds neither but was slightly mollified by delivering a total 9.4% return to shareholders as its share price discount to net asset value narrowed from 7.5% to 3.9%. Since launch in February 2020, NAVF has made a total investment return of 152.3% underpinning a total shareholder return of 143.4%, more than double the 70% gain in the MSCI Japan Small Cap and well ahead of the 87.6% advance in the broader TOPIX index.
HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) has confirmed that it will launch its $400m tender in November and set out the timetable in its half-year results next month. This follows shareholder approval of the investment company’s continuation in July. The tender offer will enable investors to sell shares at a 10% below net asset value compared to their current 25% discount. The tender is part of a commitment to return at least $500m to shareholders this year with the rest through share buybacks.
