Hansa Investment Company (HAN/HANA) fund manager Alec Letchfield argues that investors should not be overly distracted by the fund’s exposure to Brazil through a c 11% position in maritime services company Wilson Sons (WSON). While the holding could prove beneficial as global economic growth and trade continue to recover, the remaining c 90% of the portfolio is much more significant, and Hansa IC’s persistent 30%+ discount to NAV is arguably unwarranted given its healthy mix (via funds and direct equities) of growth, value and defensive/uncorrelated strategies. Recent performance has shown an improving trend versus peers, and a 13.3% local currency increase in WSON’s share price since the start of 2020 (outperforming the main Bovespa Index by 11.5pp) has not been reflected in Hansa IC’s discount to NAV, which moved by just 0.4pp from 33.9% to 34.3% (A shares) from 1 January 2020 to 4 May 2021.

Investors looking at Hansa Investment Company (Hansa IC; HAN/HANA) may have been perplexed in the past as to why its strongly performing multi-asset fund portfolio sits alongside a large strategic holding in a Brazilian maritime services company, Wilson Sons (WSON) and a value-oriented selection of direct equities. In this short update, we seek to address this question and argue that Hansa IC’s deep ‘double discount’ (c 45%) to net asset value and near-2% dividend yield could mean long-term investors can effectively afford to wait for an exit from or reappraisal of the WSON holding, and/or a rerating of the equity portfolio.

Hansa Trust (HAN/HANA) is arguably unique in its sector, with a portfolio made up of global equities, regional and thematic funds, diversifying (mainly hedge) funds and a large strategic position in Ocean Wilsons Holdings (OWHL), which in turn has a majority stake in Brazilian maritime services company Wilson Sons (WSON). Lead Manager Alec Letchfield’s focus on capital preservation as well as growth has enabled the portfolio to outperform UK and global equity indices in the recent stock market volatility, with new holdings such as Selwood Asset Management Liquid Credit Strategy already having a positive impact. The trust has recently published proposals to redomicile to Bermuda (see Recent developments).