Brunner Investment Trust PLC has released its September 2023 update, highlighting the reasons to invest in the trust. These include its 51 years of dividend growth, one of the highest yields in its sector, and a global, actively managed equity portfolio. The fund manager's review discusses the impact of inflation and the rally in oil prices, which led to higher yields on US Treasury bonds. The S&P500 finished the month down 4.8% in dollar terms, but Brunner was protected by the weakening of the value of Sterling. The trust's net asset value (NAV) total return for September was flat at 0.04%, in line with the benchmark index return of 0.08% in Sterling terms.
The trust made several investment decisions during the month. It added small amounts to several UK names that had fallen to compelling levels, such as SThree, a leading supplier of skilled contract workers to the STEM sector. The trust also took new positions in two world-class growth companies. The first is ASML, a Netherlands-based company that makes advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including extreme ultra violet (EUV) lithography machines. The second is Thermo Fisher Scientific, a US-listed life sciences giant that provides laboratories with a wide range of products and services.
The funding for these new positions was provided by the sale of Yum! China and Agilent. The trust believed that the valuation of Yum! China no longer provided a sufficient margin due to the less transparent audit, accounting, and legal regimes in China, as well as the deteriorating economic outlook.