Securities Trust of Scotland

Investment summary

Securities Trust of Scotland (STS) aims to provide long-term growth in income and capital through investing in global equities. The current manager, Mark Whitehead, was appointed in May 2016 and adopted an unconstrained, bottom-up approach to identify high-quality companies that can be long-term structural winners. The portfolio holds a relatively concentrated number of high-conviction stocks, which the manager believes gives the portfolio both defensive characteristics, as well as delivering sustainable dividend growth. The board has a progressive dividend policy. In August 2018, it announced a refresh of the trust’s marketing strategy, materially increasing its budget, and the appointment of a new non-executive director with extensive marketing expertise.