Plenty to do
AVI Global Trust (AGT) recently secured a higher bid for its largest holding, Toyota Industries, releasing cash for new investments as markets fell due to the war with Iran. The manager, Asset Value Investors (AVI), remains positive about AGT’s outlook. AVI notes Japanese companies are now more open to engagement, has identified new targets in Korea where the government is pushing for better corporate governance, and is making progress with UK-listed investment companies.
Despite market volatility and investor jitters, AGT’s ability to unlock value from its portfolio remains strong.
Extracting value from discounted opportunities
AGT aims to achieve capital growth through a focused portfolio of investments, particularly in companies whose shares stand at a discount to estimated underlying net asset value. It invests in quality assets held through unconventional structures that tend to attract discounts; these types of companies include holding companies, closed-end funds, and asset-backed special situations.
At a glance
Share price and discount
AGT’s share price discount to net asset value (NAV) has been on a broad narrowing trend in recent years and has been consistently in single figures since the end of May 2025. AGT’s board continues to manage its discount via share buybacks during periods when it is deemed that the discount is too wide and when the board believes that buying back shares is in the best interests of shareholders.
Performance over five years
AGT may have lagged its performance benchmark in recent years, but its returns still look respectable relative to peers. AGT’s investment approach means that it is unlikely to track indices over the short-term. However, the five-year figures demonstrate decent long-term performance, and the wide weighted average discount on AGT’s underlying portfolio discussed on page 6, along with the individual stock stories, suggest there is the potential for further good returns.
| Year ended | Share price total return (%) | NAV total return (%) | MSCI All Countries World Index total return (%) | MSCI ACWI ex US total return (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31/03/2022 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 12.4 | 3.5 |
| 31/03/2023 | (4.8) | (3.6) | (1.4) | 1.0 |
| 31/03/2024 | 26.2 | 24.6 | 20.5 | 10.6 |
| 31/03/2025 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 4.9 | 3.9 |
| 31/03/2026 | 6.7 | 5.7 | 17.5 | 22.0 |
Fund profile
Holding companies, closed-end funds, and asset-backed special situations
AGT aims to achieve capital growth by investing in a focused portfolio of companies trading at a discount to their estimated net asset value. It targets quality assets held through less common structures that tend to attract discounts, such as family-controlled holding companies, closed-end funds, and asset-rich Japanese firms.
Hear about the fund
For performance evaluation, AGT uses the MSCI All Country World Total Return Index in sterling as a comparison, but this benchmark does not influence the shape the portfolio, which will tend to have an active share close to 100%.
Asset Value Investors (AVI) has managed AGT since 1985, when the current investment approach was adopted. Back then, AGT had just £6m in assets and was called British Empire Securities and General Trust, later shortened to British Empire Trust. The trust adopted its current name on 24 May 2019.
Market backdrop
In early 2025, AI stocks fell after the release of DeepSeek’s latest model raised concerns about high valuations. This was followed in April by a wider market drop after Trump announced new tariffs on what he called “Liberation Day”. Markets then recovered steadily until war broke out between Israel, the USA, and Iran.
Figure 1: MSCI ACWI (in Sterling)
Figure 2: S&P 500 relative to MSCI ACWI
US equities have also lagged behind global markets since January, possibly as investors became wary of heavy exposure to large US AI stocks. The conflict with Iran is expected to have major effects on energy prices, inflation, and interest rates, which has contributed to recent declines in equity markets.
Figure 3: Sterling performance of selected MSCI indices since the outbreak of war with Iran on 28 February 2026
Japan and Korea, key parts of AGT’s portfolio, import most of their oil from the Middle East. As Figure 3 shows, they have been among the hardest-hit markets since the war began.
Investment company discounts had been narrowing, helped by activism such as AVI’s work with private equity trusts. Recently, however, concerns about falling markets and uncertainty have caused discounts to widen again.
Figure 4: Median discount all investment companies
AGT’s weighted average discount on the underlying portfolio is towards the bottom end of its range
AGT’s managers have been reinvesting cash from successful investments into new opportunities, which has helped keep the portfolio’s average discount towards the wider end of its range.
Figure 5: Weighted average discount on AGT’s underlying portfolio
AGT’s exposure to Korea has risen from 3% of the portfolio last June to 17% at the end of February
Korea
The main change in AGT’s portfolio since 30 June 2025 is a new, significant position in Korea. Exposure to Korea has risen from 3% to 17% of the portfolio by the end of February 2026.
Macroeconomics
Figure 6: Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI)
In our last note, we discussed the potential in Korea, where the manager sees the potential for a multi-year market re-rating driven by major corporate governance reforms. President Lee Jae Myung’s government, elected last June, is encouraging reforms to build household wealth and shift savings from property to equities, aiming to improve housing affordability and boost the birth rate.
The Korean government is promoting corporate governance improvements as a way of building household wealth
Korea’s “value-up” initiative has introduced several changes: directors must now consider all shareholders’ interests, companies must cancel treasury shares, and new tax incentives encourage higher dividends. From September, mandatory cumulative voting will make it easier for minority investors to elect board members. This system allows shareholders to concentrate votes on a single nominee, and audit committee independence is being strengthened, with at least two members elected directly by shareholders and no single shareholder able to cast more than 3% of votes.
About 40% of Korean companies are trading at less than 0.5x book
AVI also notes the Anti-Stock Price Suppression Act, which targets distortions created by Korea’s inheritance tax regime. Most Korean companies are family-controlled, and high death duties have led to incentives to keep share prices low. Despite recent gains, about two-thirds of Korean companies still trade below book value, and around 40% below 0.5 times book. The new law would set a minimum valuation for listed companies of either 0.8 or 1.0 times book, reducing incentives to keep prices artificially low.
There are also proposals for companies trading below book value to publish plans to improve their valuation. So far, about 200 of Korea’s 2,800 listed companies have issued such plans, but AVI considers most to be low quality. If the government makes these plans mandatory and regulates their content, AVI believes this could have a significant impact.
Japan
AVI is as excited about the opportunity in Japan as it has ever been
AVI remains very positive about Japan, citing two main reasons: the new government’s pro-growth policies and companies’ greater willingness to adopt corporate governance reforms.
Macroeconomics
Sanae Takaichi became Prime Minister in October 2025 and secured her position with a clear win in the February 2026 general election. Her government is focused on growth, but faces challenges from high government debt and a weak yen. After years of little or no inflation, prices have risen and stayed high. Companies, previously hesitant to increase prices, are now doing so, which AVI says is improving profitability.
Figure 7: Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX)
Japanese companies are much more open to AVI’s engagement efforts
AVI notes that Japanese companies are now more receptive to its engagement efforts. Access to directors and management has improved, and firms are increasingly open to raising dividend pay-outs and starting share buybacks. AVI also observes that more activists are adopting its approach of suggesting specific changes to unlock value and boost returns, such as selling underperforming divisions, reducing excess cash, selling surplus property, and unwinding cross-shareholdings.
Asset allocation
Figure 8: AGT geographic breakdown as at 28 February 2026
Figure 9: AGT look-through portfolio exposure as at 28 February 2026
At the end of February 2026, AGT held 37 investments. The manager’s stock selection decisions and market moves shape AGT’s asset allocation. Since June 2025, AGT’s exposure to Korea has increased from 3% to 17%, mainly funded by reducing European exposure from 39% to 25%. Figure 9 now lists Korea separately, and the share of holding companies has dropped from 48% to 31%.
Recent activism
HarbourVest Private Equity
Figure 10: HarbourVest Private Equity (GBp)
HarbourVest Private Equity (HVPE) is trading at a 29.9% discount to NAV. The HVPE board has introduced several measures, including a continuation vote at the AGM in July 2026, and AVI reports constructive talks with the chairman and manager.
In January, AVI published an open letter to HVPE’s board, calling for one of the following actions:
- Stop new investments until the discount averages below 15% for a year (which HVPE has never achieved). Meanwhile:
- Use 70% of cash from distributions to pay down the RCF and 30% to buy back shares at NAV;
- Once the RCF is cleared, use all free cash flow to buy back shares at NAV; and
- Sell investments in the secondary market to speed up this plan.
- Allow investors to choose a managed run-off of the portfolio, with no new investments, giving them a choice between continuation or resolution share classes.
- Run a formal sales process for the company or its portfolio.
Chrysalis
Chrysalis (CHRY) was covered in our previous AGT note. After detailed analysis, AGT started investing in early 2024 when CHRY traded at a 50% discount to an NAV around 40% below its 2021 peak. AVI gradually increased its stake to about 18%, making it CHRY’s largest shareholder. Most of this is held in AGT, with some also in other AVI-managed funds.
AVI believed CHRY’s past performance did not justify new investments, so it engaged with the board and helped guide the company towards a managed wind-down, approved by shareholders at an EGM on 24 March 2026.
Figure 11: Chrysalis (GBp)
Despite this, CHRY’s shares remain at a 50% discount to NAV. AVI attributes this to several issues, including a public dispute between CHRY’s managers and board after the board gave notice to Chrysalis Investment Partners (CIP), as well as general market weakness in stocks seen as vulnerable to agentic AI, though AVI does not think this affects CHRY’s portfolio. While AVI sees value in CIP’s continued involvement, it nominated Sam Dobbyn to the board due to his experience winding down Allied Minds and would support him leading the process.
CHRY’s lock-up on its Klarna stake has expired, giving CHRY the opportunity to sell and potentially free up some cash. However, Klarna’s share price is near an all-time low – around a quarter of its IPO price – which CIP had already considered too low. AVI also suggests CHRY could sell its stake in Smart Pension, especially as the sector consolidates, referencing NatWest’s recent sale of Cushon to Willis Towers Watson as an example.
Top 10 holdings
Figure 12: 10 largest holdings at 28 February 2026
| Holding | Industry | Country/region | Percentage of NAV 28/02/26 (%) | Percentage of NAV 30/06/25 (%) | Change(%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Industries | Industrials | Japan | 8.5 | 1.8 | 6.7 |
| D’Ieteren | Holding company | Belgium | 6.8 | 7.3 | (0.5) |
| Jardine Matheson | Holding company | Hong Kong | 6.0 | 2.2 | 3.8 |
| Chrysalis Investments | Closed-end fund | UK | 6.0 | 7.8 | (1.8) |
| News Corp | Holding company | US | 5.9 | 7.0 | (1.1) |
| Vivendi | Media | France | 5.5 | 6.6 | (1.1) |
| HarbourVest Global PE | Closed-end fund | UK | 5.4 | 5.1 | 0.3 |
| Mitsubishi Logistics | Industrials | Japan | 5.4 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
| Samsung C&T | Industrials | Korea | 5.0 | 1.2 | 3.8 |
| Cordiant Digital Infrastructure | Closed-end fund | UK | 4.4 | 4.7 | (0.3) |
| Total | 58.9 | 58.2 |
AGT’s top 10 holdings as at the end of February are detailed in Figure 12. These include four new companies: Toyota Industries (now the largest holding), Jardine Matheson, Mitsubishi Logistics, and Samsung C&T. These replaced Gerresheimer AG, Oakley Capital Investments, Partners Group Private Equity, and Aker since our last update.
Looking at some of these in more detail:
Toyota Industries
Figure 13: Toyota Industries (JPY)
Toyota Industries (toyota-industries.com) was previously discussed as the target of a takeover bid from a special-purpose vehicle backed by Toyoda Fudosan, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Akio Toyoda. The initial offer of JPY16,300 per share was seen by AVI as significantly undervaluing the company. AGT, which already held shares, increased its stake after the bid, believing there would be pressure to improve the terms and that downside risk was limited.
After intervention from activist investor Elliott, the latest bid matched book value. AVI still considers this too low for a company of Toyota Industries’ quality, but sees it as a reasonable outcome. AVI argued that accepting the original low offer would have been a setback for minority shareholder rights and corporate governance in Japan.
Toyota Industries was AGT’s largest holding at the end of February, but AGT received cash for its stake in early March. This resulted in a net cash position of about 3% just before the market selloff linked to Trump’s war on Iran.
D’Ieteren
Figure 14: D’Ieteren (EUR)
D’Ieteren (dieterengroup.com) is a Belgian holding company with a 50.01% stake in Belron (belron.com), known for windscreen replacement and repair (Autoglass in the UK). AVI describes Belron as a resilient business, both economically and operationally. Previously, AVI highlighted a share price dip linked to a special dividend in December 2024. Now, AVI sees potential for a corporate action that could boost D’Ieteren’s valuation. Clayton Dublier & Rice bought 40% of Belron in 2018 and sold half of that stake in 2021 to a group including Hellman & Friedman, GIC and BlackRock. D’Ieteren has reportedly hired Rothschild & Co to review options for its Belron stake, with speculation about a possible IPO later this year.
Jardine Matheson
Figure 15: Jardine Matheson (USD)
Jardine Matheson (jardines.com) has been a recurring stock in AGT’s portfolio. AVI now sees value in changes to how the company is managed, shifting from centralised control to a more devolved, holding company approach. Major investments include Astra International (astra.co.id), an Indonesian conglomerate that is also Southeast Asia’s largest automotive business, Hongkong Land (hkland.com), DFI Retail (dfiretailgroup.com), and Mandarin Oriental (mandarinoriental.com) the hotel business.
AVI believes these changes have led to better management of the individual companies. The group is selling non-core assets like surplus property and minority stakes, creating a leaner, more focused holding company with a stronger emphasis on return on investment. This has improved Jardine Matheson’s rating and narrowed the discount to its intrinsic value. AVI believes there is still upside and has used recent market volatility to increase its holding.
Mitsubishi Logistics
Figure 16: Mitsubishi Logistics (JPY)
Mitsubishi Logistics (mitsubishi-logistics.co.jp) is a major Japanese logistics company with significant real estate, including warehouses and a separate property investment portfolio. AVI believes the business is well-managed operationally but that its real estate assets and investment securities are undervalued in the accounts, as the properties are not regularly revalued. Using third-party valuers, AVI estimates these assets are worth more than the company’s entire market value. AVI has been working with Mitsubishi Logistics to unlock this value, possibly by spinning off the property into a Japan real estate investment trust (JREIT).
AVI holds about 4.7% of Mitsubishi Logistics across its funds, including the AVI Japan Opportunities Trust, which is one of the few holdings it shares with AGT. AVI also notes a similar undervaluation of property assets at Tokyo Gas, another AGT holding.
Samsung C&T
Figure 17: Samsung C&T (KRW)
Samsung C&T (samsungcnt.com) is the original company in the Samsung group, with four divisions: engineering and construction, trading and investment, fashion, and resort. It also acts as the holding company through which the Lee family controls Samsung Group, holding stakes in listed companies Samsung Electronics and Samsung Biologics. AVI notes that Samsung C&T shares trade at about a 59% discount to their estimated intrinsic value.
AVI is attracted to the quality of these businesses. Samsung Biologics is a global leader in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, delivering 30% revenue and 50% EBITDA growth in 2025. Samsung Electronics saw a 33% increase in earnings per share in 2025, driven by strong memory division results. Rising AI-related investment is expected to keep memory chip demand ahead of supply, supporting further revenue growth. Samsung’s new HBM4 memory chips are helping it gain market share against SK Hynix.
AVI invested partly on the belief that Samsung’s technology could catch up with SK Hynix, making Samsung C&T more attractive. They also highlight shareholder-friendly actions, such as Samsung Biologics spinning out its Samsung Bioepis biosimilars business. The expectation was that this would lead to a higher valuation for Samsung Bioepis as a more focused CDMO company.
Members of the Lee family are increasing their stakes in Samsung C&T. However, AVI believes Samsung C&T could do more to raise its share price, such as increasing the dividend pay-out ratio from the current 20% level.
Other holdings
Youngone Holdings/Youngone Corporation
Figure 18: Youngone Corporation (KRW)
Youngone Corporation (youngonecorporation.com), spun out of Youngone Holdings in 2009, is among the world’s top three premium outerwear manufacturers. Its clients include major brands like Arcteryx, Patagonia, The North Face, and Lululemon, with contracts typically lasting one to three years. The company operates manufacturing facilities worldwide.
AVI considers Youngone a high-quality business but notes it trades at about 5x EV/forward EBIT, well below peers, which trade at roughly three times higher multiples. Youngone also owns real estate and holds net cash equal to about 35% of its market cap.
AVI has engaged with the holding company to improve board diversity, address what it sees as excessive pay, and boost returns on invested capital. Despite Youngone Corporation’s low share price, Youngone Holdings trades at a 35% discount to AVI’s estimate of its asset value.
Hyosung Corporation
Figure 19: Hyosung Corporation (KRW)
Hyosung Corporation (hyosung.com) is a family holding company that AVI believes trades at a 77% discount to its true value. Its stake in Hyosung Heavy Industries (hyosungheavyindustries.com) alone is worth three times Hyosung Corporation’s market value.
Hyosung Heavy Industries is a global leader in power systems, supplying key components like transformers, switchgears, and voltage converters. It also helps customers to build and upgrade power grids to use more renewable generation and energy storage. Demand is rising as ageing grids are being upgraded to handle more widely distributed and more intermittent renewable energy as well as the higher power needs driven by the boom in AI. AVI sees an advantage in Hyosung being the only Korean company in this sector with manufacturing facilities in the US, helping it win US contracts.
The company also has a residential construction division, which is growing more slowly. AVI expects Hyosung to gradually exit this area to focus on power grid transformation.
AGT also has exposure to the power grid sector through its holding in HD Hyundai, which owns HD Hyundai Electric.
Kyocera
Figure 20: Kyocera (JPY)
Kyocera (kyocera.com), first added to AGT’s portfolio in 2023, is a large, diversified group that AVI believes is too complex. Originally focused on ceramics, Kyocera now makes products from kitchen knives to semiconductor packaging.
Some of its businesses are industry leaders, with the semiconductor division holding a 50% global market share. Kyocera also owns a significant stake in KDDI, a listed Japanese telecoms firm, which made up about 60% of Kyocera’s market value in 2023.
After discussions with AVI and others, Kyocera has agreed to sell a third of its KDDI stake and return capital to shareholders. The company has also appointed a new CEO and is reviewing its business portfolio.
Performance
AGT has underperformed the two indices in Figure 21 in recent years, but Figure 22 shows its returns remain respectable compared to peers. As mentioned earlier, macroeconomic factors, including the recent war in Iran, have contributed to market volatility. AGT’s investment style means it is unlikely to closely follow indices in the short term. However, its five-year performance figures show solid long-term results, and the wide average discount on its underlying portfolio suggests the potential for further upside.
Figure 21: AGT NAV total return performance versus objective over five years ending 31 March 2026
Figure 22: Total return cumulative performance over various time periods to 31 March 2026
| 3 months(%) | 6 months(%) | 1 year(%) | 3 years(%) | 5 years(%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVI Global Trust share price | (6.2) | (6.7) | 6.7 | 36.2 | 39.2 |
| AVI Global Trust NAV | (4.1) | (5.0) | 5.7 | 32.8 | 37.4 |
| MSCI ACWI | (1.3) | 2.1 | 17.5 | 48.6 | 64.6 |
| MSCI ACWI ex US | 1.1 | 6.2 | 22.0 | 40.2 | 46.6 |
| Peer group1 median share price | (3.2) | (2.4) | 14.5 | 33.1 | 37.4 |
| Peer group1 median NAV | (6.2) | (4.0) | 9.2 | 36.2 | 29.4 |
Premium/discount
Over the 12-month period ended 31 March 2026, AGT’s share price discount to NAV has moved within a range of 11.1% to 5.5% and averaged 8.0%. As of 6 April 2026, the company’s discount was 8.9%.
Figure 23: AGT premium/discount over five years to end March 2026
AGT’s discount to NAV has generally narrowed in recent years and has stayed in single digits since late May 2025. The board manages the discount by buying back shares when it considers the discount too wide and believes this is in shareholders’ best interests. Since we last published, AGT has repurchased over 15.0m shares.
Capital structure
Simple capital structure
As of 1 April 2026, AGT had 424,479,755 ordinary shares, with 21,873,084 held in treasury. This gives a total of 402,606,671 voting rights. There are no other share classes. AGT does not have a fixed life. Its financial year ends on 30 September, and AGMs are usually in December.
Fees and costs
The investment manager charges an annual fee of 0.70% on the first £1bn of AGT’s net assets and 0.60% on amounts above £1bn. The management agreement can be ended with six months’ notice.
For the year to 30 September 2025, directors’ fees are detailed below. Other main expenses were marketing costs of £514,000 (down from £605,000 in FY24) and advisory and professional fees of £537,000 (up from £487,000 in FY24).
The ongoing charges ratio, reflecting the trust’s running costs, was 0.85% for the year, down from 0.87% the previous year.
Gearing
As of 30 September 2025, AGT’s non-current liabilities totalled £161.3m, consisting of six unsecured loan notes in Sterling, euros, and yen, maturing between 2032 and 2039. Coupon rates range from 1.38% on the yen debt to 4.184% on the Sterling debt. At 28 February 2026, net gearing, based on debt at fair value, was 4.7%.
Board
AGT has five non-executive directors, all independent of the manager and not serving together on other boards. Calum Thomson, the longest-serving director, will retire at the AGM in December 2026. Anja Balfour will then become the senior independent director. A new director will be appointed later this year.
Figure 24: Directors’ length of service, fees, and shareholding
| Role | Appointed | Length of service (years) | Fees (GBP) | Shareholding | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Kitchen | Chairman | 01/2019 | 7.3 | 57,000 | 139,000 |
| Calum Thomson | Senior independent director/ chair of the audit committee | 04/2017 | 9.0 | 47,500 | 44,490 |
| Anja Balfour | Director | 01/2018 | 8.3 | 37,000 | 50,000 |
| Neil Galloway | Director | 09/2021 | 4.6 | 37,000 | 60,000 |
| June Jessop | Director | 01/2023 | 3.3 | 37,000 | 52,000 |
Graham Kitchen
Graham has over 25 years’ experience as an investment manager at Invesco, Threadneedle and, until March 2018, Janus Henderson, where he was global head of equities. He was previously chair of the Investment Committee for the Cancer Research Pension Fund, member of the investment committee of Independent Age and chairman of Invesco Select Trust Plc and Perpetual Asset Management UK Limited. Graham held the position of interim global head of investment strategy at Perpetual Group until March 2024. He is a non-executive director and senior independent director of The Mercantile Investment Trust Plc, and a non-executive director of TR Property Investment Trust Plc and Places for People.
Calum Thomson
Calum is a qualified accountant with over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry, including 21 years as audit partner at Deloitte LLP, specialising in the asset management sector. He has wide ranging experience in auditing companies in the asset management sector, and latterly as a non-executive director and audit committee chairman.
Calum is a non-executive director and audit committee chairman of Diverse Income Trust Plc, The Bank of London and The Middle East Plc, Ghana International Bank Plc, Patria Private Equity Trust Plc, and TPT Retirement Solutions Ltd. He is a non-executive director of Schroder Unit Trusts Limited and Schroder Pension Management Limited. Calum is also chairman of The Tarbat Historic Trust (a Pictish museum) and a trustee of Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Anja Balfour
Anja has over 20 years’ experience in managing Japanese and international equity portfolios for Stewart Ivory, Baillie Gifford and Axa Framlington.
She is a non-executive director of Scottish Friendly Assurance Society and was previously chairman of Schroder Japan Growth Fund Plc, a trustee of Venture Scotland, a member of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee of Carnegie UK Trust and a non-executive director of Martin Currie Asia Unconstrained Trust Plc.
Neil Galloway
Currently based in London, Neil has spent most of his career working in Asia, but also has experience in the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. Following a successful banking career, he has held senior finance and management roles, almost entirely with or for family-controlled companies, overseeing finance, treasury, risk management, legal, IT, projects, and business development, with experience in significant business transformation programmes in large and complex businesses.
Neil is a non-executive director of The Merchants Trust Plc, and was previously CFO of Pepco Group N.V., executive vice president of IWG Plc and an executive director and CFO of DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited based in Hong Kong (the Jardine Matheson subsidiary mentioned on page 11). His industry experience spans banking, hospitality, retail (mass market, luxury, and franchise operations), real estate and services industries.
June Jessop
June was previously senior business manager at Stewart Investors and a member of the EMEA Management Committee of First Sentier Investors (of which Stewart Investors is a sub-brand).
She spent 30 years in financial services, gaining broad experience in portfolio management, client relationship, business development and, latterly, general management roles. June has been an investment manager for institutions, charities, and private clients.
June is a non-executive director of Aberforth Geared Value and Income Trust Plc.
SWOT analysis
Figure 25: SWOT analysis for AGT
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| AGT has generated decent long-term returns for investors | AGT’s returns can deviate markedly from those of peers and global indices over the short term |
| AGT’s differentiated investment approach offers a way of diversifying investors’ portfolios | Market selloffs are sometimes accompanied by discount widening |
| AGT’s running costs are higher than other trusts in the global sector, reflecting the extra work involved in activist investing | |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| The wide discount on the underlying portfolio highlights the potential for idiosyncratic returns | Focused portfolio brings stock specific risk |
| AGT is well-positioned if investors continue to diversify away from the US | Macro environment may be unhelpful if oil prices remain elevated due to war |
Bull vs. bear case
Figure 26: Bull vs. bear case for AGT
| Aspect | Bull case | Bear case |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | AGT holds a number of deeply discounted investments with clear catalysts for a re-rating | AGT will rarely hold the momentum-driven stocks that have tended to drive indices in recent years |
| Dividends | AGT’s primary focus is capital growth – though it does pay a modest dividend with a current dividend yield of 1.9% on its share price | N/A |
| Outlook | In an uncertain world, it helps that AGT’s returns are not reliant on buoyant markets | Macroeconomic risks are elevated, and the outlook is hard to predict |
| Discount | AGT’s discount to NAV has been on a narrowing trend for some time, and the board has demonstrated that it will act when necessary | Whilst we would hope that investors are not swayed by such things, short-term underperformance of peers and indices may create selling pressure |
Previous publications
Readers interested in further information about AGT may wish to read our previous notes listed below. You can read them by clicking on the links in Figure 27 or by visiting our website.
Figure 27: QuotedData’s previously published notes on AGT
| Title | Note type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Double discount on quality-focused portfolio | Initiation | 25 January 2021 |
| Focused high conviction portfolio | Update | 5 August 2021 |
| Bargain hunting | Annual overview | 20 May 2022 |
| Doubly blessed | Update | 8 March 2023 |
| An historic opportunity | Annual overview | 21 November 2023 |
| Thriving under pressure | Update | 6 June 2024 |
| Building on solid foundations | Annual overview | 5 December 2024 |
| No shortage of targets | Update | 5 August 2025 |
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Investment Performance Information: Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future and that the value of shares and the income from them can go down as well as up. Exchange rates may also cause the value of underlying overseas investments to go down as well as up. Marten & Co may write on companies that use gearing in a number of forms that can increase volatility and, in some cases, to a complete loss of an investment.