Broers promoted to co-manager of Utilico Emerging Markets
Utilico Emerging Markets (UEM ) investment manager ICM has promoted Jacqueline Broers to joint portfolio manager alongside Charles Jillings.
Broers (pictured above) joined ICM in 2010 and became deputy manager of the £482m portfolio of emerging market utility stocks in 2021, according to a stock exchange notice.
Citywire A-rated Jillings, who will turn 70 in September (according to Companies House), has been manager of the fund since its launch in 2005.
Shares in the 4.1%-yielder, which was shortlisted for the Citywire Investment Trust Award in the specialist equities category this year, have consistently traded at a double-digit discount over the last 12 months and currently sit 17.3% below net asset value (NAV).
The global emerging markets portfolio’s NAV has softened 0.9% over the last year while the shares slipped 3.1% versus a 9% rise in the MSCI emerging markets benchmark, according to data from Deutsche Numis. Over three years, the fund has fared slightly better with a NAV increase of 17.1% and a share price rise of 13.3%, against a 2% rise in the index.
The recent half-year report showed a NAV total return decline of 1.4% with dividends totalling 4.475p, an increase of 4.1% on the previous year and fully covered by earnings.
Jillings pointed out that NAV performance since launch was ahead of the MSCI emerging markets index and it had ‘achieved this together with a rising dividend payout, lower volatility, and with a portfolio which is significantly differentiated from the [index]’.
Trust chair John Rennocks said the discount remained ‘stubbornly high’ and ‘well above the level that the board expects to see over the medium term’.
‘The company has continued buying back shares for cancellation, with 2.9m shares bought back in the half year to 30 September, at an average price of 224.06p,’ Rennocks said.
He added that future share buybacks remained ‘an independent investment decision’ and shares have historically been bought back if the discount widened beyond 10%. He remained cautious about the outlook for emerging markets.
‘The strong win by Donald Trump in the US elections and his MAGA agenda will mean rising economic tensions globally,’ Rennocks said.
‘It is difficult to have strong conviction on the impact of his policies and approach, but we expect volatility to remain elevated and the outcomes for different emerging markets may well be uneven in nature. We remain confident that our strong management teams across the portfolio will make the right choices and continue to thrive in a challenging environment.’
