British Empire conquers benchmark

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.