TIDMATY

RNS Number : 3035H

Athelney Trust PLC

02 December 2020

Athelney Trust PLC

Legal Entity Identifier:

213800ON67TJC7F4DL05

The unaudited net asset value of Athelney Trust was 239.7p at 30 November 2020.

Fund Manager's comment for November 2020

This year has been characterised by two major sources of uncertainty: a global pandemic and a bitterly contested U.S. election. Earlier this month, the announcement by Pfizer, BioNTech and AstraZeneca of positive vaccine testing results, combined with a Democrats win in the election helped drive up the growth segment of the market and provide the value stocks with renewed impetus which resulted in a 10.8% increase in the S&P 500 Index. News of a vaccine was particularly well received in European markets given the impact the virus has had on some countries with the CAC up 20.1%, the Euro Stoxx up 18.1%, the DAX up 15.0% and the MSCI World Index up by 13.7% during the month. AstraZeneca has subsequently announced that it is likely to run an additional vaccine trial after acknowledging a manufacturing error in its recent late-stage study.

Announcements that the UK economy had rebounded sharply during the September quarter were reflected in the value of the pound as compared to the US$ which increased by 2.8% in November and the stock market, where the FTSE 250 Index increased by 12.3%. The small cap stocks performed better than large cap stocks with the Small Cap Index increasing by 14.9% as compared to the FTSE 100 Index which only increased by 12.4%. The AIM All Share Index increased by 10.8%, while the Fledgling Index increased by 13.6% during the month.

During the past month our growth-oriented portfolio was a casualty of a large, sector rotation where investors were searching for stocks that have underperformed over the past six months. As a result, our portfolio increased by 4.4%, giving up some of the impressive out-performance generated over the past twelve months and after allowing for expenses, the NAV increased by 4.1%. We sold our holding in Hill & Smith and added to our holdings in Fevertree Drinks, Lok 'n Store, Yougov and Abcam. Cash comprised 3.6% of the portfolio at month end.

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 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 (licence no.421704).

www.ecpohl.com

www.ecpam.com

Manny Pohl and the ECP group has over AU$1500m 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)

AUD25m www.barrackst.com

   --    Global Masters Fund Limited (ASX code: GFL)

AUD25m 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

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December 02, 2020 07:22 ET (12:22 GMT)

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