Last checked at 
20 May 2019 07:00
NB Private Equity Partners: New research
20/05/19
· A wide range of discount-narrowing initiatives have built a good foundation for investors in NBPE...
Read more
NB Private Equity Partners (NBPE) focuses on direct equity and debt investments in private equity-backed companies, with investments made alongside a wide range of third party private equity managers. As such, the portfolio is more highly diversified than directly investing peers, but (in contrast to a fund of funds) attracts only one layer of fees.
In the past year, the board has largely completed its wide-ranging initiatives for narrowing the discount. The most recent of which - concentrating liquidity in the shares by delisting from Euronext, as well as initiating a buyback programme - both provide good foundations for future shareholders to get involved. Following a secondary sale, NBPE now only has a small number of legacy fund positions (amounting to 4% of the portfolio) and with the company's gearing, shareholders have more than 100% exposure to the direct equity portfolio.
This gearing differentiates the trust to competitors, the majority of which have net cash on their balance sheets. Whilst it won't always, being geared has contributed to performance over the last year. 2018 NAV performance was strong on an absolute basis, as well as relative to public markets. Over the past five years, as of 31 March 2019, NBPE delivered NAV cumulative total returns (in sterling) of 106% compared to a simple average return of 71% from directly investing LPE trusts, and 88% from fund of funds. Indeed, only HG Capital trust has outperformed NBPE over five years across the entire LPE sector. This strong performance compares to 75% for the MSCI ACWI Index in Sterling, and 32% for the FTSE All Share Index.
NBPE has been an attractive option for those who want to add greater diversification to their portfolio as it has produced a correlation to the MSCI ACWI of just 0.17 in NAV terms over the past five years, the lowest of the peer group. One might argue that NBPE increases diversification, and reduces manager risk because their investments are led by a range of other third-party PE managers, and because they don't have the concentration risk (in terms of diversification of portfolio) that other direct funds have.
In terms of "vintage" (the year in which deals are made), the portfolio is relatively immature, with 74% of the portfolio invested in 2016 or later. It is worth remembering that NB invests both in "new deals" brought to it by managers, but also invests in "mid-life" deals which help an existing company's growth or M&A strategy. These latter types of deal might be expected to have a shorter investment time-frame than new deals.
Going forward, it is the managers' intention to focus the portfolio, making somewhat fewer but larger investments. Wherever possible, they will be looking to invest "bite-sizes" of up to $25m per equity investment. Currently the average equity investment is valued at $8m, so if the managers are successful, making larger initial investments will markedly change the shape of the portfolio. As of 31 March 2019, the top 10 investments by fair value represent approximately 29.5% of NAV.
In September 2018, the company announced a new dividend policy, targeting an annualised yield of 3.0% or greater on the year end NAV. The board further noted that should a short-term decline in NAV occur, it is not its intention to reduce dividends. With fewer investments being made in the income portfolio, the company will be paying the majority of the dividend from capital for the foreseeable future. NBPE's dividend yield of 4% compares with a 3.9% weighted average dividend yield for the AIC Global Equity Income and 3.8% for the AIC UK Equity Income sectors.
Click here to read the full report
Visit http://www.trustintelligence.co.uk/investor for more high quality independent investment trust research.
Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful.
Important information
NB Private Equity Partners is a client of Kepler Trust Intelligence. This material should be considered a marketing communication, and is not independent research.
Kepler Partners is not authorised to make recommendations to Retail Clients. This report is based on factual information only, and is solely for information purposes only and any views contained in it must not be construed as investment or tax advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or take any action in relation to any investment.
This report has been issued by Kepler Partners LLP solely for information purposes only and the views contained in it must not be construed as investment or tax advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or take any action in relation to any investment. If you are unclear about any of the information on this website or its suitability for you, please contact your financial or tax adviser, or an independent financial or tax adviser before making any investment or financial decisions.
The information provided on this website is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject Kepler Partners LLP to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Persons who access this information are required to inform themselves and to comply with any such restrictions. In particular, this website is exclusively for non-US Persons. The information in this website is not for distribution to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy any securities in the United States of America to or for the benefit of US Persons.
This is a marketing document, should be considered non-independent research and is subject to the rules in COBS 12.3 relating to such research. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research.
No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by any person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information and no responsibility or liability is accepted for the accuracy or sufficiency of any of the information, for any errors, omissions or misstatements, negligent or otherwise. Any views and opinions, whilst given in good faith, are subject to change without notice.
This is not an official confirmation of terms and is not to be taken as advice to take any action in relation to any investment mentioned herein. Any prices or quotations contained herein are indicative only.
Kepler Partners LLP (including its partners, employees and representatives) or a connected person may have positions in or options on the securities detailed in this report, and may buy, sell or offer to purchase or sell such securities from time to time, but will at all times be subject to restrictions imposed by the firm's internal rules. A copy of the firm's conflict of interest policy is available on request.
Past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested when you decide to sell your investments. It is strongly recommended that Independent financial advice should be taken before entering into any financial transaction.
PLEASE SEE ALSO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Kepler Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales at 9/10 Savile Row, London W1S 3PF with registered number OC334771.
Kepler Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
About this service
Kepler Trust Intelligence for private investors is not just another news and research website. Our aim is to create a library of high quality investment strategy research, fund analysis and useful guides for private investors, all written in-house by experienced analysts on the investment companies team at Kepler Partners.
We are focused entirely on investment trusts, however we believe that it helps to understand them better if they are placed on a level playing field with OEICs, so you will see comparisons between the two in these pages often.
Our content falls into three categories;
Investment strategy articles are designed to highlight opportunities and developments which are of interest to investment trust investors, positive or negative.
Fund research focuses on individual trusts, examining them in detail to create a snapshot picture which you can use to decide whether or not you want to invest in them.
Educational output is split into simple guides, designed to help beginners understand how investment trusts work, and more complex guides to sectors, regions and strategies which may be of interest to investors.
We do not produce massive amounts of research. Our focus is on quality, not quantity, so we are unlikely to publish more than four or five articles in a given week. For this reason we recommend that you join our mailing list, and we'll send you an email once a week alerting you to what's new on the site. We won't sell your details, and we won't spam you with useless updates.
How are we funded?
Kepler Trust Intelligence is funded entirely by the providers of investment trusts, and is made available freely to any person (professional or private individual) who wants to access it. We clearly disclose all of our relationships, but our research is either paid for directly by specific trusts and their boards, or more generally by the larger asset management groups who pay to have adverts and advertorial. As a result, all of our research should be considered "non-independent" and readers should consider it as marketing.
All of our content is freely available to anyone. We run two versions of the site - one for professionals and one for private investors. The professional site requires readers to volunteer the name of the company they work for and the city / region - so that from a compliance perspective we can be satisfied that all readers really are a professional.
We provide information, not advice
While we hope that you find the research we publish useful, and we believe it will help you to make a more informed decision, but we must of course stress that none of the research published here constitutes a recommendation, or advice, and you should not think that - just because we've published a report on a trust - we believe that trust is a 'buy'. Please read our terms and conditions.
If you want to manage your own investments we hope that this website is a useful source of information which helps you to do that, however if you are in any doubt, you should speak to a financial adviser.
Pascal Dowling
Kepler Partners
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END