Athelney Tst. Regulatory News (ATY)

Athelney Trust PLC

Legal Entity Identifier:

213800ON67TJC7F4DL05

The unaudited net asset value of Athelney Trust was 240.9p at 31 October 2019.

Fund Manager's comment for October 2019

Global markets rallied in October on the back of positive political news. US markets were strong after President Trump announced that China and the US had reached a tentative agreement on a trade deal. The US agreed to suspend tariffs scheduled for 15 October, while China agreed to buy up to US$50bn in US farm products and accept more American financial services (it should be noted Chinese officials did not actually confirm such a deal). The Fed Reserve also cut the Fed funds rate by 25 bps to 1.50% and while it provided no forward guidance, it remains focused on the economic outlook.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request for an early election was granted and this will take place on 12 December 2019. The ongoing Brexit saga resulted in the FTSE declining by 2.2% while other European markets were stronger in local currency terms with the DAX leading the way, up 3.5%, the Euro Stoxx up 1.0% and the CAC up 0.9%. Asian markets were the best performing from a Global perspective with the Nikkei up 5.4% and the Hang Seng up 3.1%. China still lagged the region up only 0.8%.

Commodities markets were very mixed against the back drop of the trade negotiations with some of the bulk commodities underperforming, Iron ore was down 8.9% while Thermal Coal was up 5.2%. US Gas prices had a rally and were up 13.0% while Brent Crude prices were down 0.9%. Gold and Silver were also stronger with Gold up 2.8% and Silver up 6.5%.

The major world markets as represented by the MSCI World Index and the S&P 500 rebounded in September with these indices up by 1.9% and 2.5% respectively. As mentioned, European and Asian markets were also stronger, the UK market was mixed with the FTSE down by 2.2% in local currency terms and the Small Cap Index down by 1.7%. The AIM All Share Index was the best performing of the UK indices after a poor performance in September, increasing by 1.9% while the Fledgling Index increased by 1.3%. Our portfolio of investments performed much better than the market, increasing by 2.8% during the month which, after allowing for expenses resulted in a 2.4% improvement in the NAV.

As the positioning of the portfolio has, to a large extent been completed, we made no changes to the portfolio during the month. Cash held is slightly higher than normal given the current political climate and will be invested in due course.

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 "Portfolio Details".

Background Information

Dr. Emmanuel (Manny) Pohl

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 (licence no.421704).

www.ecpohl.com

www.ecpam.com

Manny Pohl and the ECP group has over AU$1000m under its management including four listed investment companies, three listed in Australia and one in the UK:

·; Flagship Investments (ASX code:FSI)

AUD50m https://flagshipinvestments.com.au

·; Barrack St Investments (ASX code: BST)

AUD23m www.barrackst.com

·; Global Masters Fund Limited (ASX code: GFL)

AUD26m www.globalmastersfund.com.au

·; Athelney Trust plc (LSE code: ATY)

GBP5m 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 one of only "22 investment companies that have increased their dividend every year between 10 and 20 years - the next generation of dividend heroes" (as at 20/03/2018). See link

www.theaic.co.uk/aic/news/press-releases/next-generation-of-dividend-heroes

Website

www.athelneytrust.co.uk