(Alliance News) - Polar Capital Global Financials Trust PLC on Tuesday said its performance deteriorated over its recently-ended financial year.
The investment company said net asset value per share as at the end of November was 134.7 pence compared to 148.5p reported a year earlier.
The company noted that the investment environment in 2020 presented unique and profound challenges. Over the financial year, while the MSCI World Index rose by 11% in sterling terms, the company's chain linked benchmark fell by 6.4%, mirroring the decline in the portfolio's total return NAV.
The trust said, the most significant development during the year was its reconstruction. With the end of the seven-year fixed life term approaching in May 2020 and following discussions with a number of large shareholders, the trust drew up proposals for a 100% tender offer and the replacement of the fixed end-of-life with five-yearly tender offers that would give shareholders the periodic opportunity to tender their shares at close to net asset value.
Since the restructuring of the company, its portfolio's total return had outperformed that of the new benchmark by 10% by the end of the financial year.
In July the company declared a first dividend for the financial year of 2.4p, which was paid in August 2020. The company has approved a further dividend payment for the financial year of 2.00p to be paid on Friday. This brings the total dividend for the year to 4.4p, the same level as that paid in the previous financial year.
Polar Capital Global Financials Trust shares were trading 0.1% higher in London on Tuesday at 150.18p each.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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