Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust

LSE: HSL

Market Cap£615m

Last Close 823p

Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust (HSL) aims to maximise shareholders’ total returns (capital and income) by investing in smaller companies that are quoted in the United Kingdom. The fund’s benchmark is the Numis Smaller Companies (ex Investment Companies) Index, which is the bottom 10% of the UK stock market by market cap (up to c £1.5bn market cap), In addition, the fund invests in the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

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Investment summary

In our Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust (HSL) initiation note in June, we highlighted the strong features the company brings to investment in UK small and mid caps, notably an experienced manager and team, an efficacious process and competitive fees. So far, 2022 has been the second most difficult year that the lead manager, Neil Hermon, has experienced in his near 20-year tenure at HSL and in his 33-year small-cap investing career overall (the most difficult being during the global financial crisis). The fund’s weak showing in 2022 might have affected its three- and five-year performance, but it has not derailed HSL’s 2.8% net annual outperformance of the index over Hermon’s tenure. In this adverse investment environment investors can be reassured by HSL’s experienced management team and established investment process, honed over many years and through multiple investment cycles.