£420.3m market cap
353.5p last close
The Merchants Trust’s investment objective is to provide an above-average level of income and income growth, together with long-term growth of capital, through investing mainly in higher-yielding large-cap UK companies. With effect from 1 February 2017, the benchmark is a broad UK stock market index (previously an index of the 100 largest UK companies).
Investment summary
The Merchants Trust (MRCH) is managed by Simon Gergel at Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI). Aiming to continue to provide a high and growing level of income, he is adjusting the trust’s portfolio in the wake of dividend cuts sparked by the negative economic effects of COVID-19. If there is an income shortfall in this financial year, MRCH is well positioned to maintain its dividend, with revenue reserves of more than 1x the last annual payment. It has not been an easy period for value managers over the last decade as growth stocks have led the charge; however, Gergel has outperformed the UK market over this period in both NAV and share price terms. The board reduced MRCH’s gearing in late January 2020, which was opportune timing ahead of the recent significant stock market weakness.
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Key management |
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| Colin Clark | Chairman |
| Simon Gergel | Fund manager |
Content on The Merchants Trust
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