Henderson European Focus
This investment trust was launched in 1947 and manager John Bennett was appointed to run it in 2010. Mr Bennett, who has notched up 25 years of managing European equities, joined Henderson in April 2011 following its acquisition of Gartmore.
The trust seeks to maximise total return through what it believes is a focused portfolio of listed Continental European stocks.
The manager tries to seek out inflection points at both a stock and sector level where he believes there is the opportunity for growth at a reasonable price.
The trust is unconstrained by its benchmark, the FTSE World Europe ex UK index, and holds between 50 and 60 companies at any one time, with a bias to large caps. Exposure to small-cap stocks is usually limited to 10 per cent of net asset value. The portfolio currently has 23.7 per cent in Germany, 21.5 per cent in Switzerland and 11 per cent in France.
The trust has clocked up one, three, five and 10 years of top-quartile performance in the AIC Europe sector, delivering a share price total return of 54.14 per cent over five years to October 15, against a sector average of 47.78 per cent. Over a 10-year period, the investment trust has generated an impressive 244.18 per cent share price total return.
What the judges say
The judges described the fund’s manager as a steady and safe pair of hands.
Club members
Argonaut European Alpha
Invesco Perpetual European Equity
JPM Europe Dynamic (ex UK)
Waverton European
In numbers
£184m
Total assets
130.42%
Five-year actual return
1.10%
Ongoing charges
