Athelney Tst. Regulatory News (ATY)

Athelney Trust PLC

Legal Entity Identifier:

213800ON67TJC7F4DL05

The unaudited net asset value of Athelney Trust was 190.6p at 31 March 2024.

Fund Manager's comment for March 2024

This week's economic release in the US revised the 4th quarter GBP growth up from an annualised 3.2% to 3.4%. This was driven by a substantial increase in non-residential spending which was adjusted upwards to 3.7% from 2.4% as well as the continued strength in consumer spending and more specifically, services outlays. In spite of this solid economic performance, inflation has unexpectedly continued to decline, albeit at a slower pace. This anomaly of declining prices in a buoyant economy has been caused by increased supply following the repair of supply chains and the labour market which suffered material damage during the pandemic. Labour force participation in the economy has recovered but not likely to improve materially from here and the high level of US government debt to GDP is likely to ensure that both short rates and long-term rates, while on the decline, are likely to be higher than previously experienced.

Investors were clearly impressed with the improved US economic figures as the S&P500 continued to power along, up by 3.1% for the month. The NASDAQ also benefited from the positive sentiment in the equity markets, reporting a 1.79% improvement over the month as did the MSCI which was up by 3.01%. 

In the UK, official statistics published on Thursday confirmed that the economy had slipped into a technical recession in the second half of last year. The Office for National Statistics said GDP fell by 0.3% for the quarter as compared to the last three months of 2023, following a 0.1% fall in the previous period. Undeterred by this, the Bank of England held its policy rate steady at 5.25%.

Notwithstanding the negative economic news, the UK markets performed strongly with the FTSE 100 up by 4.23% and the FTSE 250 up by 4.36%. Smaller companies did not fare as well, with the Small Cap Index up by 2.10%, the AIM All-Share index up by 0.92% and the Fledgling Index up by only 0.56%.  The Athelney portfolio performed well, up 3.12% during the month and, after allowing for expenses and the payment of the dividend, the NAV reflected a decline of 1.09%.

There were no changes to the portfolio during the month and the payment of the dividend in addition to on-going expenses, caused our cash holding at month end to decline to 2.6% of the portfolio.

Fact Sheet

An accompanying fact sheet which includes the information above as well as wider details on the portfolio can be found on the Fund's website www.athelneytrust.co.uk under "About" then select "Latest Monthly Fact Sheet".

Background Information

Dr. Emmanuel (Manny) Pohl AM

Manny is Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of E C Pohl & Co ("ECP"), an investment management company and has been a major shareholder in Athelney trust for many years.

E C Pohl & co is licensed by the Australian Financial services (license no.421704).

www.ecpohl.com

www.ecpam.com

Manny Pohl and the ECP group has AUD2.7bn (£1.5 billion) under its management including four listed investment companies, three listed in Australia and one in the UK:

· Flagship Investments (ASX code:FSI)

AUD95m https://flagshipinvestments.com.au

· Barrack St Investments (ASX code: BST)

AUD37m www.barrackst.com

· Global Masters Fund Limited (ASX code: GFL)

AUD33m www.globalmastersfund.com.au

· Athelney Trust plc (LSE code: ATY)

GBP6m www.athelneytrust.co.uk

Athelney Trust plc Investment Policy

 The investment objective of the Trust is to provide shareholders with prospects of long-term capital growth with the risks inherent in small cap investment minimised through a spread of holdings in quality small cap companies that operate in various industries and sectors. The Fund Manager also considers that it is important to maintain a progressive dividend record.

The assets of the Trust are allocated predominantly to companies with either a full listing on the London Stock Exchange or a trading facility on AIM or ISDX. The assets of the Trust have been allocated in two main ways: first, to the shares of those companies which have grown steadily over the years in terms of profits and dividends but, despite this progress, the market rating is favourable when compared to future earnings and dividends; second, to those companies whose shares are standing at a favourable level compared with the value of land, buildings or cash in the balance sheet.

Athelney Trust was founded in 1994. In 1996 it was one of the ten pioneer members of the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM"). In 2008 the shares became fully listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Athelney Trust has a successful progressive dividend growth record and the dividend has grown every year since 2004. According to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) Athelney Trust is a "Dividend Hero" being one of only a few investment companies that have increased their dividend every year for 20 years or more. See link

https://www.theaic.co.uk/income-finder/dividend-heroes

Website

www.athelneytrust.co.uk