Hansa Trust (LON:HAN) seeks to be differentiated from peers by giving investors access to a portfolio of global equities, specialist funds and a strategic (c 20%) holding with exposure to Brazil, which began as a small position but has grown as a result of superior long-term performance.
There is a long-term bias to equities but the focus on preserving and growing capital means that, at certain points in the cycle, the manager may invest more in defensive assets to dampen volatility. Strategy changes since the start of FY15 appear to be bearing fruit and recent NAV and share price performance have been strong, yet Hansa Trust remains at a wide discount to NAV relative to peers. This provides scope for the discount to narrow substantially should the positive performance trend be maintained.
Investment strategy: Dynamic multi-asset approach
After overhauling its investment approach in early 2014, Hansa Trust’s portfolio is now a blend of global equities, regional equity funds, specialist thematic and diversifying funds and a long-standing strategic investment in Ocean Wilsons Holdings (OWHL), which holds a majority stake in Brazilian maritime services company Wilson Sons. Manager Alec Letchfield says the aim is to construct a diversified portfolio of investments that individual investors would be unable or unlikely to access directly. The focus is on long-term preservation and growth of capital and the strategy is managed dynamically through the business cycle.
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