Brunner Investment Trust (BUT) £12.75

Gain to date: 19%

We highlighted investment trust Brunner (BUT) at £10.71 in April 2023 on the basis a 7.1% discount to (NAV) net asset value provided an opportunity to purchase a balanced global portfolio for less than the value of the underlying assets.

Our bullishness reflected the fact that the quarterly dividend-paying trust has delivered consistent returns across the market cycle and had particular appeal during the prevailing uncertainties at the time.

WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE WE SAID TO BUY?

Shares in Brunner have trekked almost 20% higher, helping the discount relative to peers begin to narrow, boosted by the global equities rally witnessed towards the back end of 2023 as well as portfolio outperformance and well-received full year results (14 February).

Brunner beat its benchmark once again in the year ended 30 November 2023, delivering an NAV total return of 8.7%, ahead of the 5.5% increase in the composite benchmark. This reflected strong stock selection from the managers and standout performances from the likes of tech titan Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ), Greek-listed retailer Jumbo SA (5JB:FRA), Danish pharma star turn Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B:CPH) and insurer Munich Re (MUV2:ETR), which chair Carolan Dobson said demonstrates ‘the variety of companies and sectors the manager selects to meet the company’s performance and risk objectives’.

WHAT SHOULD INVESTORS DO NOW?

Stick with Brunner, a reassuringly diversified trust providing exposure to high quality companies with high market shares and pricing power, as well as strong balance sheets and a sustainable competitive advantage, that are expected to perform well over the long term. This all-weather fund should hold up well in 2024, a year of countless elections around the world and with the geopolitical landscape remaining dangerous.

Brunner also proposed a 5.6% hike in the total dividend to 22.7p, meaning it has now reached 52 years of consecutive dividend increases. 

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