18 Aug 2017 12:15
London, UK, 18 August 2017
Edison issues review on Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust (HAST)
Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust (HAST) has continued in H217 to produce solid absolute returns from its portfolio of specialist and alternative funds investing in areas such as private equity, property, emerging markets and specialist credit. The three-year process of rebuilding the trust's portfolio after its move to Janus Henderson was concluded nearly a year ago, and the managers are pleased with the progress made towards the informal target annualised return of 8%, measured over a three-year period. Share price returns over one year have kept pace with buoyant equity markets but with lower volatility, and over the same period HAST ranks third in its peer group for NAV total returns. The improved performance and a narrower discount may provide support as the trust approaches a three-yearly continuation vote in January 2018.
At 16 August 2017, HAST's shares traded at a 13.2% discount to NAV. This is narrower than both short- and longer-term averages, and follows a brief period when it had widened as the share price lagged a rising NAV. The discount had previously narrowed quite sharply to a three-year low of 11.2% in March as a result of strong share price performance. With the trust now building a solid record of NAV returns from its fully rebuilt portfolio, and with a reasonable yield of 1.3% (2.2% including special dividend), there should be scope for the discount to narrow further.
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