British Empire Securities and General Trust said its investments had outstripped its benchmark in the final quarter of 2012.Over the three months the trust's net asset value rose by 7.9%, compared to an increase of 2.8% for its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Growth Index, resulting in an outperformance of 5.1%.French multinational, Vivendi, the largest position in the portfolio, was a significant contributor to the performance over the period.During the period the weighted average discount on the portfolio narrowed from 30.2% at the end of September 2012 to 25.9% at calendar year end.The discount calculation is a measure of how much the share price of each stock in the portfolio is below the firm's estimate of its net asset value. The narrowing was driven by a combination of factors including greater investor confidence and an increase in the level of corporate activity amongst portfolio companies, the trust said.
