sec17 Feb 2013 22:18
Peer group comparison
The 11 UK smaller cap investment companies that make up the peer group below encompass a range of divergent investment styles and SEC’s investment approach is unique within the peer group. SEC ranks tenth of 11 funds over one year. The principal reason for this may be SEC’s weighting to ‘smaller small caps’ and AIM companies, which, as we noted on page 7, underperformed FTSE small cap ex-IC stocks in 2012. SEC’s analysis of performance in Q412 highlights falling share prices for KCOM (disappointing results), Lavendon (which SEC believes may be shorted by hedge funds) and Tyman (on profit taking); these three stocks reduced the NAV by 2% over that period. SEC is sixth of 11 funds over three years and tenth of 11 over five years in terms of total shareholder return. SEC’s ongoing charges are the second-highest of the peer group and its discount is the second-widest. It is among the lowest-yielding UK smaller company funds.