Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (LON:FGT) has been managed by Nick Train since 2000; he runs a concentrated portfolio of 25-30 primarily UK equities, aiming to generate growth in capital and income. Despite a period of underperformance in CY16, as result of the outperformance of cyclical companies where FGT has minimal exposure, its performance track record remains intact. It has outperformed its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share index, over one, three, five and 10 years. FGT has a progressive dividend policy and the 2016 annual dividend was increased by 8.3% versus the prior year. As a result of continued capital appreciation and investor demand, FGT’s assets under management now exceed £1bn.
Investment strategy: Focused, high-quality portfolio
Manager Nick Train is invested in just four sectors: consumer goods, consumer services, financials and technology. He aims to “buy great companies and hold them forever,” focusing on companies with strong franchises, low capital intensity and high cash flow, which are trading on reasonable valuations. While the majority of the portfolio is held in UK companies, up to 20% may be in companies listed overseas. FGT’s portfolio turnover is very low – the last new holding was Rémy Cointreau in 2015, the first for four years, and the last disposal was Thomson Reuters Corporation (TO:TRI) in 2016, the first for three years. The manager prefers not to run a cash position and employs a modest level of gearing, 3.0% at end-March 2017.
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