Last checked at 
LONDON (Alliance News) - Witan Investment Trust PLC on Tuesday said its performance was better than that of its benchmark in the first half.
The trust said its net asset value total return total return was 5.5% in the first six months of 2015, ahead of the 3.6% delivered by its benchmark.
The benchmark is a composite of four indices: the FTSE All-Share Index 40%, the FTSE All-World North America Index 20%, the FTSE All-World Europe (ex UK) Index 20% and the FTSE All-World Asia Pacific Index 20%.
"The developed world entered the second half of the year with economic growth improving and becoming more synchronised after the contrasting fortunes seen in recent years. The US and UK economies are growing at rates that have brought forward expectations that current near-zero interest rates will soon start to rise, although the authorities have been careful to reassure that the pace of tightening will be gradual. Within Europe, growth is unevenly distributed but, with the clear exception of Greece, generally at a faster pace than 2014," Chairman Harry Henderson and Chief Executive Andrew Bell said in a joint statement.
Henderson and Bell said that emerging economies are the main areas of concern.
"China's economy has been slowing for some years, amid concerns that a period of excessive property and infrastructure investment had left its banks exposed to bad debts. This year has also seen the puffing up and bursting of a domestic stock market bubble, which risks undermining confidence in China's nascent financial markets. The jury is out on whether the authorities will be able to steer the economy towards a soft landing. Some other emerging economies have been hit by the weakness in oil and other commodity prices, as well as worries that they will suffer capital outflows if the US Federal Reserve tightens liquidity," Henderson and Bell said.
The chairman and chief executive said there appear to be more "economic tailwinds than headwinds", despite difficulties in some emerging economies and in parts of Europe.
"Corporate earnings are improving, the effect of low oil prices should support consumer demand in oil-importing countries and liquidity trends remain positive, with central banks in Europe, Japan and a number of Asian economies easing policy, while rate increases in the US, and possibly the UK, seem likely to be very gradual. An environment of moderate economic growth and subdued inflation should favour equity investment, although there are few windfalls after the gains seen in recent years. This argues for selectivity, both in the markets and individual stocks invested in and in avoiding pockets of speculative excess, such as have occurred in government bond markets in early 2015 and more recently in the Chinese domestic market," they said.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
