ESCT AJ Bell and Shares Investor Evening

Watch Ollie Beckett, Fund Manager of the European Smaller Companies Trust, as he speaks at the AJ Bell and Shares Investor Evening.

Discrete year performance (%)	Share price (total return)	NAV (total return)
30/9/2023 to 30/9/2024	25.91	17.73
30/9/2022 to 30/9/2023	21.35	18.60
30/9/2021 to 30/9/2022	-29.59	-25.60
30/9/2020 to 30/9/2021	56.77	46.81
30/9/2019 to 30/9/2020	13.41	16.76

All performance, cumulative growth and annual growth data is sourced from Morningstar.

Source: at 30/09/24. © 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance does not predict future returns.

Glossary

Conviction – A strategy where a portfolio holds a select number of stocks that represent the portfolio manager’s best opportunities for outperformance. Fewer holdings mean each stock has a larger impact on under/outperformance. A high conviction approach can also lead to higher volatility/risk. See also concentrated portfolio.

Cyclical stocks – Companies that sell discretionary consumer items (such as cars), or industries highly sensitive to changes in the economy (eg. mining).

Discount – Refers to a situation when a security is trading for lower than its fundamental or intrinsic value. The opposite of trading at a premium.

Dividend – A variable discretionary payment made by a company to its shareholders.

Gearing – Gearing is a measure of a company’s debt relative to its equity, showing how far its operations are funded by lenders versus shareholders. Investment trusts: The effect of borrowing money for investment purposes (financial gearing). The amount a company can “gear” is the amount it can borrow in order to invest.

Inflation – The rate at which the prices of goods and services are rising in an economy. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Retail Price Index (RPI) are two common measures. The opposite of deflation.

Market cap – The total market value of a company’s issued shares. It is calculated by multiplying the number of shares in issue by the current price of the shares. The figure is used to determine a company’s size and is often abbreviated to ‘market cap’. Investment trusts: Market capitalisation is the share price multiplied by the number of shares in issue, excluding treasury shares, at month end. Shares typically priced mid-market at month-end closing.

NAV (investment trusts) – The value of investments and cash, excluding current year revenue, less liabilities (prior charges such as loans, debenture stock and preference shares at fair value).

Economic Cycle – The fluctuation of the economy between expansion (growth) and contraction (recession), commonly measured in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). It is influenced by many factors, including household, government and business spending, trade, technology and central bank policy. The economic cycle consists of four recognised stages. ‘Early cycle’ is when the economy transitions from recession to recovery; ‘mid-cycle’ is the subsequent period of positive (but more moderate) growth. In the ‘late cycle’, growth slows as the economy reaches its full potential, wages start to rise and inflation begins to pick up, leading to lower demand, falling corporate earnings and eventually the fourth stage – recession.

Share price – The price to purchase (or sell) one share in a company, not including fees or taxes. For investment trusts: The closing mid-market share price at month end.

Small caps – Companies with a valuation (market capitalisation) within a certain scale, eg. $300 million to $2 billion in the US, although these measures are generally an estimate. Small cap stocks tend to offer the potential for faster growth than their larger peers, but with greater volatility.

Value investing – Value investors search for companies that they believe are undervalued by the market, and therefore expect their share price to increase. One of the favoured techniques is to buy companies with low price to earnings (P/E) or price to book (P/B) ratios. See also growth investing.

Disclaimer:

Marketing Communication. Not for onward distribution. The value of an investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Not for distribution in European Union member countries. Past performance does not predict future returns.

There is no guarantee that past trends will continue, or forecasts will be realized.

Not for onward distribution. Before investing in an investment trust referred to in this document, you should satisfy yourself as to its suitability and the risks involved, you may wish to consult a financial adviser. This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the AIFMD Disclosure document and Annual Report of the AIF before making any final investment decisions. Past performance does not predict future returns. The value of an investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Tax assumptions and reliefs depend upon an investor’s particular circumstances and may change if those circumstances or the law change. Nothing in this document is intended to or should be construed as advice. This document is not a recommendation to sell or purchase any investment. It does not form part of any contract for the sale or purchase of any investment. We may record telephone calls for our mutual protection, to improve customer service and for regulatory record keeping purposes.

Issued in the UK by Janus Henderson Investors. Janus Henderson Investors is the name under which investment products and services are provided by Janus Henderson Investors International Limited (reg no. 3594615), Janus Henderson Investors UK Limited (reg. no. 906355), Janus Henderson Fund Management UK Limited (reg. no. 2678531), (each registered in England and Wales at 201 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3AE and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority), Tabula Investment Management Limited (reg. no. 11286661 at 10 Norwich Street, London, United Kingdom, EC4A 1BD and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) and Janus Henderson Investors Europe S.A. (reg no. B22848 at 78, Avenue de la Liberté, L-1930 Luxembourg, Luxembourg and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier).
Janus Henderson is a trademark of Janus Henderson Group plc or one of its subsidiaries. © Janus Henderson Group plc

Important information

Please read the following important information regarding funds related to this article.

Before investing in an investment trust referred to in this document, you should satisfy yourself as to its suitability and the risks involved, you may wish to consult a financial adviser. This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the AIFMD Disclosure document and Annual Report of the AIF before making any final investment decisions.

Specific risks

If a Company's portfolio is concentrated towards a particular country or geographical region, the investment carries greater risk than a portfolio that is diversified across more countries.
Where the Company invests in assets that are denominated in currencies other than the base currency, the currency exchange rate movements may cause the value of investments to fall as well as rise.
Most of the investments in this portfolio are in smaller companies shares. They may be more difficult to buy and sell, and their share prices may fluctuate more than those of larger companies.
This Company is suitable to be used as one component of several within a diversified investment portfolio. Investors should consider carefully the proportion of their portfolio invested in this Company.
Active management techniques that have worked well in normal market conditions could prove ineffective or negative for performance at other times.
The Company could lose money if a counterparty with which it trades becomes unwilling or unable to meet its obligations to the Company.
Shares can lose value rapidly, and typically involve higher risks than bonds or money market instruments. The value of your investment may fall as a result.
The return on your investment is directly related to the prevailing market price of the Company's shares, which will trade at a varying discount (or premium) relative to the value of the underlying assets of the Company. As a result, losses (or gains) may be higher or lower than those of the Company's assets.
The Company may use gearing (borrowing to invest) as part of its investment strategy. If the Company utilises its ability to gear, the profits and losses incurred by the Company can be greater than those of a Company that does not use gearing.
Using derivatives exposes the Company to risks different from - and potentially greater than - the risks associated with investing directly in securities. It may therefore result in additional loss, which could be significantly greater than the cost of the derivative.
If the Company seeks to minimise risks (such as exchange rate movements), the measures designed to do so may be ineffective, unavailable or negative for performance.

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