Investment trust insider on North American Income Trust – James Carthew: discount on North American looks odd
I know that markets climb a wall of worry but sometimes the slew of negative headlines can feel a bit overwhelming. I think that here, in the UK, the looming Brexit decision and the growth slowdown that has occurred since the referendum have made us particularly depressed.
Across the pond however, the mood is much brighter as the US enjoys the fastest economic growth in the G7, while we bring up the rear. The difference in energy you get talking to a US-based fund manager is palpable as I found when I recently met Fran Radano, manager of The North American Income Trust (NAIT).
NAIT isn’t as high yielding as its direct rival BlackRock North American Income (BRNA), but it is the best-performing US focused investment trust over the past three years beating the S&P 500 and with an annual return that is 3.4% a year ahead of BRNA.
While sticking to dividend-paying stocks, Radano tries not to compromise on the quality of companies. This has benefited its overall growth in net asset value (NAV), which is better than BRNA over five and ten years, although oddly it sits on a 7% discount while the latter stands on a 1% premium.
The US mid-term elections are now behind us and it will be interesting to see if Trump dials down the rhetoric a bit, maybe even agreeing a trade deal with China now there is less need to play to the gallery.
One twitter war that may not subside, however, is… read more here