Fidelity European Values (FEV) has announced chairman Humphrey van der Klugt will step down at the company’s AGM on 12 May and he will be succeeded by Vivian Bazalgette.
The investment trust made the announcement as part of its year-end results for 2015 which reported its net asset value (NAV) per share as 6.9 per cent, outperforming its benchmark index, the FTSE World Europe (ex UK) Index, which returned 5.3 per cent.
The share price total return over this period was 9.2 per cent, ahead of the NAV return, as a consequence of the level of discount (ex-income) narrowing from 4.6 per cent at the start of the year to 2.9 per cent at the year end.
As part of the investment trust’s results, European equities rose in sterling terms over the 12-month period, with gains primarily driven by increasing evidence of a recovery in European economies.
These gains were partially reversed as markets fell sharply in the third quarter due to concerns about China’s slowdown and its potential impact on the global economy, according to the report.
FEV has a very good portfolio. Paul CoffinLooking ahead, the trust’s managers said the recovery in the Eurozone remained intact but warned of potential risks on the horizon, with markets becoming increasingly concerned about a global economic slowdown and deflation.
Managers of the trust said they were also factoring in a possible Brexit, warning that this would have wide consequences for the UK and also for continental European countries.
Adviser View
Paul Coffin, chartered wealth manager at London-based Capital Financial Markets, said: “The discount has widened in the last month or so to 11 per cent. The NAV is £1.84.
“So while the results are alright, the discount has widened to 11 per cent so people might think it is time to go in. It has got a very good portfolio such as Nestle, Roche and UBS, which are excellent companies so you are buying some very good quality blue chip stock on a significant discount.”
