THE consequences of Brexit have been “very good news” for the Baillie Gifford-run Monks Investment Trust, which saw a transformation in its performance in the six months to the end of October.
The £1.4 billion trust, which contracted by 0.4 per cent in the full year to April, delivered a net asset value total return of 25.3 per cent in the first half of the current year, outperforming its benchmark index’s return of 23.6 per cent.
Chairman James Ferguson admitted that the impact of Brexit as well as Donald Trump’s election to the US presidency make it “hard to fathom what might happen to the growth patterns of individual companies”.
However, he said that as the vast majority of the trust is invested overseas the pound’s post-Brexit weakness has been of particular benefit.
“The consequences of Brexit have been very good news for Monks in the short term,” he said. “This is not only because of the post-Brexit rally of equities, but more so because over 90 per cent of the portfolio’s assets are denominated in currencies other than sterling.”
Mr Ferguson added that “while most of the portfolio is not directly affected by Brexit, the managers made reductions to the building materials company CRH and airline Ryanair”. “Their direct exposure to both the UK and broader EU is likely to be unhelpful for their future growth,” he said.
Looking ahead, Mr Ferguson said that it is too early to draw conclusions about the impact of a Trump presidency, but added that “the introduction of trade barriers and protectionism might lead to lower levels of international trade, which would not be the optimal backdrop for the portfolio”.
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