Henderson Opportunities Trust plc aims for a higher than average rate of capital growth over the medium to long term, from a portfolio of recovery and ‘special opportunities’ stocks predominantly in the UK.
Key Facts
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Experience counts
James Henderson has managed the Trust since January 2007. James joined Henderson in 1984 and has been involved with investment trusts throughout his career.
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Open to opportunityThe fund manager is free to seek out the best prospects with no restraint on sector or size of company, and is benchmarked against the FTSE All-Share Index.
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An individual approach
The fund manager uses a contrarian investment style, seeking recovery and turnaround opportunities in out-of-favour companies.
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Actively seeking growthDividend growth is not a priority, the trust makes active use of gearing to capitalise on good opportunities.
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Wide exposureThe trust invests in both the main stock market and AIM (Alternative Investment Market) stocks.
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Reasons to Invest
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Dynamic potentialThe fund manager is unconstrained by market size and has the freedom to invest from start ups to FTSE 100s, with AIM expertise within the fund management.
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Signs of recovery
After a poor 2007/8, the portfolio is positioned for recovery.
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Stock picking skills
James Henderson has an exceptional long-term track record on other funds, including the Lowland Investment Company.
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Motivated to achieve
A performance fee closely aligns the interest of the manager with those of the shareholders.
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Price
| Price | Discount | NAV*
(02/07/2009) | Div Yield
(Net) |
| Ordinary | 284.5 | - | 330.1 | 5.1 |
| Subscription | 7.0 |
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| Package Discount** | - | -13.91 | - | - |
As at
03/07/2009Source: Financial Express
** Package Discount - calculated on the 'package' of five ordinary shares and one subscription share.
Fund Manager's Commentary - May 2009
After the headlong charge of April, where over-indebted cyclicals rose sharply, May turned out to be a more sanguine affair, albeit maintaining the positive momentum that has recently developed in stock markets around the world. A key feature of the UK stock market has been a seemingly constant stream of companies asking their shareholders for new capital, mostly to repair ravaged balance sheets. ‘Sell in May and go away’ is a favourite stock market adage and has been touted by a number of commentators lately as a reason to be bearish; however, our feeling is that while markets have
run hard in the short term and a more defensive stance over the summer months might be more appropriate, a wholesale retreat into the ‘doom and gloom’ of Q4 2008 is unlikely.
Over the month we supported two of our companies in fund raisings. One, St. Modwen Properties, needs to rebuild its balance sheet to cope with the downturn and allow for the full value of its long-term land holdings to be realised. The other, Vertu, is a motor retailer that is raising funds to make
opportunistic acquisitions. We also continued to add to our position in Johnson Services and added just one new holding, in Oxford Catalyst, a clean fuel technology company. The net asset value (NAV) rose more modestly during the month, after April’s 28% rise, and gearing was around 17%.