Investment trusts

About this investment trust

Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested.

The Company aims to provide shareholders with long-term capital growth and an attractive total return by investing primarily in UK smaller companies and mid-capitalisation companies traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Why choose it?

The BlackRock Throgmorton Trust looks to back the UK’s emerging companies. An unusual feature of the Trust is its ability to ‘short’ companies that we find unattractive, enabling us to profit if the share price falls. This gives the Trust’s manager the opportunity to back investment ideas with real conviction, within a strong risk framework.

Suited to…

Investors who want a dynamically managed portfolio of growing companies but are comfortable with a limited degree of ‘short’ exposure.

AJ Bell Online Personal Wealth Awards 2021: As at 8 March 2021.
AJ Bell Award: As at 3 September 2021.

Awards/Ratings have not been superseded to date.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product or strategy.

What are the risks?

• Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested.
• Net Asset Value (NAV) performance is not the same as share price performance, and shareholders may realise returns that are lower or higher than NAV performance.
• The Trust’s investments may have low liquidity which often causes the value of these investments to be less predictable. In extreme cases, the Trust may not be able to realise the investment at the latest market price or at a price considered fair.
• Investment strategies, such as borrowing, used by the Trust can result in even larger losses suffered when the value of the underlying investments fall.
• The insolvency of any institutions providing services such as safekeeping of assets or acting as counterparty to derivatives or other instruments, may expose the Fund to financial loss.
• Derivatives may be used substantially for complex investment strategies. These include the creation of short positions where the Investment Manager artificially sells an investment it does not physically own.
• Derivatives can also be used to generate exposure to investments greater than the net asset value of the fund/investment trust. Investment Managers refer to this practice as obtaining market leverage or gearing. As a result, a small positive or negative movement in stockmarkets will have a larger impact on the value of these derivatives than owning the physical investments. The use of derivatives in this manner may have the effect of increasing the overall risk profile of the Funds.

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Fund manager commentary

31 May 2024

Comments from the Portfolio Manager

Please note that the commentary below includes historic information on the Company’s NAV performance and index performance.

The figures shown relate to past performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

The Company returned 7.6% in May, outperforming its benchmark the Deutsche Numis Smaller Companies + AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index, which returned 6.4%.¹

Despite a bout of volatility in the last few days of May, it was a strong month for risk assets broadly, with most developed markets delivering a positive return. As for the macro, May did see some softer global growth data points while US and UK inflation prints revealed ongoing falls albeit perhaps not at the rate hoped for, with Services still a laggard. On the UK specifically, the economic backdrop is steadily improving; growth is up, inflation is falling, and consumer confidence is rising alongside real wage growth (ASDA Income tracker is now at 3-year high). We think the news of a snap election in the UK is a positive overall as it removes a prolonged period of uncertainty and could indeed herald a period of political stability (just reflect on how many cabinet posts have changed in recent years) with drives investment. Combine this with an improving backdrop and potential for rate cuts we think the UK recovery is only in the foothills and the valuation anomaly extreme. M&A activity in the UK remains high, highlighting the value on offer. Interestingly, the UK small and mid-caps saw the first monthly net inflow after 35 consecutive months of outflows! Maybe an anomaly, maybe the start of a trend? As ever, there was lots going on at the company level, and this was a month of lots of stock specific developments, both positive and negative, though thankfully we got more of the former than the latter.

The largest contributor during the month was from Zotefoams, which rallied sharply in response to a positive trading statement. The company reported positive growth across a number of its High-Performance Products (HPP) including footwear, aviation and insultation products, while also updating investors on its ReZorce mono-material barrier packaging product, which is currently entering late-stage quality and technical validation in preparation for market trials with a European retailer. IntegraFin, the operator of the Transact investment platform, reported a 13% year-on-year increase in funds under direction, which rose to £61bn as at the end of March 2024. Net inflows onto the platform rose by 4% during the year, with advisors using the platform also growing at the same rate to 7,900. Bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing shares rose on the announced acquisition of an online competitor which should be significantly accretive to earnings.

Elevated levels of M&A activity remained an ongoing feature in the UK small and mid-cap market, but remains a double edged sword. Do we own the companies that are bid for, thereby generating a fillip to short-term performance, and if so, is the price commensurate with the long-term value we think they are capable of generating? As for May, we saw a large cash bid (+70% premium) for a company we don’t own – Keywords Studios – itself a large constituent of the benchmark so that was the biggest drag on relative performance in the month (costing around 38bps). Consumer electronics business, TT Electronics, fell after reporting ongoing destocking in its shorter-cycle components products in North America. Management felt confident enough to reiterate their full year guidance but it will be more H2 weighted than previously thought. However, overall, the book-to-bill ratio has moved above 1x for the first time in over 12 months, with Q124 orders sequentially higher than Q423 and comps ease through the year. The shares trade on just over 7x current year earnings, so one might think quite a lot of negativity is already priced in. Shares in travel operator Jet2 drifted lower during the month despite no stock specific news flow.

Overall, a lot to contend with in May. Indeed, there are many stocks worth talking to clients about this month, both good and bad. As discussed earlier, we think the outlook for the UK is improving, share buy backs and M&A activity continue to provide a valuation underpin, so H2 2024 could be exciting with an election out the way, improving macro and sentiment and maybe even an improving flow backdrop. We remain reassured with the breadth of returns in the portfolio, with positive contributions across a broad spread of businesses both this month and year to date. We are also reassured that the returns are primarily driven by stock specifics rather than any one factor or macro bet. The net of the portfolio is around 110% while the gross is around 115%.

We thank shareholders for your ongoing support.

¹Source: BlackRock as at 31 May 2024

Unless otherwise stated all data is sourced from BlackRock as at 31 May 2024.

Any opinions, forecasts represent an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon by the reader as research, investment advice or a recommendation.

Risk: Reference to the names of each company mentioned in this communication is merely for explaining the investment strategy and should not be construed as investment advice or investment recommendation of those companies.

Portfolio manager biography

Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested.

Daniel Whitestone, Managing Director, is Head of the Emerging Companies team, within the Fundamental Equity Division of BlackRock's Active Equity business. He is the lead Portfolio Manager for BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc, BlackRock UK Emerging Companies Hedge Fund and BlackRock UK Emerging Companies Absolute Return Fund.

Dan's service with the firm dates back to 2013. Prior to joining BlackRock, Dan worked for UBS, where he was the head of the UK small and mid-cap sales desk and ranked the number one salesperson in the Extel Small/Mid-Cap sales ratings in 2011 and 2012. Prior to working at UBS, Dan joined Noble and Co in 2006 as a UK small and mid-cap salesman. He began his career at Accenture, in 2003 as a strategy consultant.

Dan earned a BA Hons degree in Combined Studies from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

Board of directors

All the Directors are non-executive, independent of the Investment Manager and members of the Audit Committee, Management Engagement Committee and the Nomination Committee.

Christopher Samuel (Chairman) was appointed to the Board in June 2016. He was Chief Executive of Ignis Asset Management from 2009 until its sale to Standard Life Investments in 2014. He was previously Chief Operating Officer at Gartmore and Hill Samuel Asset Management and was a partner at Cambridge Place Investment Management. He is a Non-Executive Director of Quilter plc (including subsidiaries Quilter Financial Planning Limited, Quilter Investment Platform Limited and Quilter Life & Pensions Limited). Mr Samuel was formerly Chairman and a Non-Executive Director of JP Morgan Japanese Investment Trust plc and a non-Executive Director of the Alliance Trust plc, UIL Limited and its subsidiary UIL Finance Limited. He graduated from Oxford with an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG.

Angela Lane was appointed to the Board in June 2020. She had previously spent 18 years working in private equity at 3i, becoming a partner in 3i's Growth Capital business managing the UK portfolio. Since 2007, Angela has held several non-executive and advisory roles for small and medium capitalised companies across a range of industries including business services, healthcare, travel, media, consumer goods and infrastructure. She is currently the Audit Chair and Non-Executive Director of Pacific Horizon Investment Trust plc, Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust plc and Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc.

Louise Nash was a UK Small and Mid-Cap Fund Manager, firstly at Cazenove Capital and latterly at M&G Investments which she left in 2015. She now works for family wine business Höpler. She also acts as a consultant to JLC Investor Relations. Louise holds an MA in German and Politics from the University of Edinburgh and the IMRO Investment Management Certificate.

Nigel Burton was appointed to the Board in December 2020. He has spent over 14 years as an investment banker at leading City institutions including UBS Warburg and Deutsche Bank, including as the Managing Director responsible for the energy and utilities industries. Nigel has also spent 15 years as Chief Financial Officer or Chief Executive Officer of a number of private and public companies. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of AIM listed companies DeepVerge plc, Microsaic Systems plc, eEnergy Group plc and Location Sciences Group plc. He was formerly a Non-Executive Director of Digitalbox plc, Corcel plc, Modern Water plc, Alexander Mining plc, Mobile Streams plc and Chairman of Remote Monitored Systems plc.

Merryn Somerset Webb was appointed to the Board in March 2021. She has significant experience of financial matters through her role as a senior columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and writes extensively on this subject across radio and television. She is also a former Editor-in-Chief of MoneyWeek, the UK personal finance magazine. Merryn brings valuable investment trust specific experience. She is a former Non-Executive Director of Murray Income Investment Trust plc, Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon Public Limited Company and Netwealth Investments Limited.

Glen Suarez was appointed to the Board on 9 January 2023. He is an experienced director, having held both executive and non-executive roles. He is currently a non-executive director of Impax Environmental Markets plc and chairman of the board of Knight Vinke Asset Management. He is a senior adviser to FMAP Limited, a consultancy founded by Lord Maude which advises governments on the implementation of public sector reform. Glen was chairman of The Edinburgh Investment Trust plc until July 2022 and was a committee member and co-chair of the Capital Markets Advisory Committee, an independent body advising the IASB on accounting issues and standards between 2014 and 2020. Before this, he was a Partner in Soditic Limited and prior to that he was head of European energy, infrastructure and utilities investment banking business at Morgan Stanley. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a member of the Royal Society of Arts.

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