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LONDON (Alliance News) - Murray International Trust PLC on Monday said it underperformed its benchmark in 2015 following a tough year of trading for equity markets.
The FTSE 250-listed investment trust, which invests in global equities, said its net asset value total return turned negative in 2015, generating a negative 7.8% from a positive 3.0% in 2014. This compared to a positive 2.4% return for its benchmark, a composite index comprising 40% of the FTSE World UK Index and 60% of the FTSE World ex-UK Index.
The trust said US and Japanese equities were the bright spots in its portfolio in 2015, but it is relatively underweight in both of these markets. Beyond these two, global equity markets declined over the year, hit hard by tough conditions in commodities, utilities, industrial and oil and gas sectors.
Murray said much of its portfolio is exposed to equities based in countries hard hit by the downturns in these industries.
The trust said it will pay a 15.0 pence final dividend, taking its total payout up to 46.5p, a 3.3% rise year-on-year.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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