Jupiter US Smaller let down by discount

JUS : Jupiter US Smaller let down by discount

Jupiter US Smaller Companies has announced its results for the year that ended on 30 June 2014. The fund outperformed – generating a return on net assets of 11.0% vs. an 8.3% return on the Russell 2000 Index. The company’s rating deteriorated however (moving from a 4.1% premium to a 2.7% discount) and so the return to shareholders was 3.7%.

The biggest event in the fund’s year was its transfer from F&C to Jupiter. Some investors who held their shares through the F&C savings plan sold their shares but the Board believes all of these shares had been placed with new investors by April.

The report says that the net asset value performance was achieved despite its conservative investment style being out of favour with investors. The five best performing stocks added 5% to the asset value.

The report highlights Goodrich Petroleum (exploration and production) which saw improved drilling results in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (one of the new frontiers in domestic oil exploration); recoveries by problem stocks, Willbros Group (pipeline contractor) and Pernix Therapeutics Holdings (marketer of pediatric medicines); Orbital Sciences (small rockets and satellites) which successfully launched its new Antares rocket after several delays; and Alere (diagnostic tools) which rose by more than 50% after making some progress in fixing past problems and as an activist applied pressure at Board level.