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 achieve long-term capital growth for shareholders through investment mainly in smaller UK quoted companies.
Why choose it?
We aim to find the ‘hidden gems’ within the small cap universe, investing in high-quality growth companies that are able to shape their own futures regardless of the wider economic environment. As active managers, we believe this area presents us with an attractive hunting ground: these companies are often under-researched, and pricing is inefficient. This gives us great opportunities to generate returns for our clients over the long term.
Suited to…
Investors looking for carefully selected opportunities among the UK’s vibrant small cap sector for long-term capital growth. Investors need to be able to tolerate variation in their capital.
BlackRock Smaller CompaniesTrust FAQs
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The BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust’s seeks to achieve long-term capital growth for investors by predominantly investing in smaller UK companies. It aims to uncover “hidden gems” within the small-cap realm, focusing on high-quality growth companies capable of shaping their own futures irrespective of broader economic conditions. As active managers, the Trust views the small-cap space as attractive for its potential for under-researched opportunities and inefficient pricing, providing ample opportunities to generate returns over the long term.
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Roland Arnold has been the manager of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust since 2018. He is also co-manager of the BlackRock UK Special Situations Fund, a manager of Small and Mid-Cap UK Equity Portfolios and a member of the UK Equity Team.
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Dividends are declared and paid out semi-annually. Interim dividend payments are made in November with the final payment of dividends on ordinary shares being paid in June.
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The smaller companies sector which the BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust invests in is home to numerous market-leading businesses that have historically outperformed larger companies over the long term1. Smaller companies can be more focused, enabling investors to target niche growth areas that may not be as accessible with larger, more diversified companies. They can respond quickly to market changes, and be more entrepreneurial in seizing opportunities. Overall, investing in smaller companies can enhance returns and bring valuable diversification to client portfolios.2
1 Source: Kepler Trust Intelligence as at June 2023.
2 Source: BlackRock as at April 2023. -
Smaller companies may be considered to be riskier investments due to factors including greater volatility, limited financial resources, lower market liquidity, concentrated business risk and a limited track record. Smaller companies can experience higher price fluctuations, making them more susceptible to economic downturns and unexpected challenges. Their limited financial resources may pose challenges during adverse market conditions, and lower liquidity can result in larger price swings.
Despite these risks, smaller companies could offer growth opportunities and the BlackRock Smaller Companies Investment Trust actively manages these challenges to potentially capitalise on higher returns while navigating associated risks through thorough research and strategic investment decisions.
Morningstar Rating: Since January 2012.
Awards/Ratings have not been superseded to date.
The Morningstar Analyst Rating is subjective in nature and reflects Morningstar’s current expectations of future events/behaviour as they relate to a particular fund. Because such events/behaviour may turn out to be different than expected, Morningstar does not guarantee that a fund will perform in line with its Morningstar Analyst Rating. Likewise, the Morningstar Analyst Rating should not be seen as any sort of guarantee or assessment of the creditworthiness of a fund or of its underlying securities and should not be used as the sole basis for making any investment decision.
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.
- Smaller company investments are often associated with greater investment risk than those of larger company shares.
Useful information
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.
Fees & Charges
Annual Expenses as at Date: 28/02/2024
Ongoing Charge (including any Performance Fee): 0.8%
Management Fee Summary: BlackRock receives an annual fee which is calculated based on 0.60% in respect of the first GBP 750m of the Company's total assets less current liabilities, reducing to 0.50% thereafter. There are no performance fee arrangements in place.
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ISIN: GB0006436108
Sedol: 0643610
Bloomberg: BRSC:LN
Reuters: BRSC.L
LSE code: BRSC
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Name of Company: BlackRock Fund Managers Limited
Telephone: 020 7743 3000
Email: cosec@blackrock.com
Website: www.blackrock.com/uk
Correspondence Address: Investor Services
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited
12 Throgmorton Avenue
London
EC2N 2DL
Name of Registrar: Computershare PLC
Registered Office: Exchange Place 1
1 Semple Street
Edinburgh EH3 8BL
Registrar Telephone: +44 (0)370 707 1649
Place of Registration: Scotland
Registered Number: 006176
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Year End: 28 February
Results Announced: October (interim), April/May (final)
AGM: July
Dividends Paid: November (interim), June (final)
Latest company announcements
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.
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ESG Integration
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing is often conflated or used interchangeably with the term “sustainable investing”. BlackRock has identified sustainable investing as being the overall framework and ESG as a data toolkit for identifying and informing our solutions. BlackRock has defined ESG Integration as the practice of incorporating material ESG information and consideration of sustainability risks into investment decisions in order to enhance risk-adjusted returns. BlackRock recognises the relevance of material ESG information across all asset classes and styles of portfolio management. The Investment Manager may incorporate sustainability considerations in its investment processes across all investment platforms. ESG information and sustainability risks are included as a consideration in investment research, portfolio construction, portfolio review, and investment stewardship processes.
The Investment Manager considers ESG insights and data, including sustainability risks, within the total set of information in its research process and makes a determination as to the materiality of such information in its investment process. ESG insights are not the sole consideration when making investment decisions and the extent to which ESG insights are considered during investment decision making will also be determined by the ESG characteristics or objectives of the Company. The Investment Manager’s evaluation of ESG data may be subjective and could change over time in light of emerging sustainability risks or changing market conditions. This approach is consistent with the Investment Manager’s regulatory duty to manage the Company in accordance with their investment objectives and policies and in the best interests of the Company’s investors. The Investment Manager’s Risk and Quantitative Analysis group will review portfolios to ensure that sustainability risks are considered regularly alongside traditional financial risks, that investment decisions are taken in light of relevant sustainability risks and that decisions exposing portfolios to sustainability risks are deliberate, and the risks diversified and scaled according to the investment objectives of the Company.
BlackRock’s approach to ESG integration is to broaden the total amount of information the Investment Manager considers with the aim of improving investment analysis and understanding the likely impact of sustainability risks on the Company’s investments. The Investment Manager assesses a variety of economic and financial indicators, which may include ESG data and insights, to make investment decisions appropriate for the Company objectives. This can include relevant third-party insights or data, internal research or engagement commentary and input from BlackRock Investment Stewardship.
Sustainability risks are identified at various steps of the investment process, where relevant, from research, allocation, selection, portfolio construction decisions, or management engagement, and are considered relative to the Company’s risk and return objectives. Assessment of these risks is done relative to their materiality (i.e. likeliness of impacting returns of the investment) and in tandem with other risk assessments (e.g. liquidity, valuation, etc.).
ESG integration does not change the Company’s investment objective or constrain the Investment Manager’s investable universe, and does not mean that an ESG or impact focused investment strategy or exclusionary screens have been or will be adopted by the Company. Similarly, ESG integration does not determine the extent to which the Company may be impacted by sustainability risks.
Fund manager commentary
31 July 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.
During July the Company’s NAV per share rose by 6.8% to 1,719.43p on a total return basis, while our benchmark index returned 5.9%.1
The UK equity market rose during July, with the more domestic small and mid-cap market outperforming the large cap FTSE 100 Index on the back of improving economic data and the outcome of the UK General Election. The UK economy experienced further stabilisation of inflationary pressures with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) remaining steady at 2.0% year-on-year.2 The service sector experienced a slight increase, while the production and construction sectors saw minor contractions. Retail activity across the UK had a slight uptick, with retail footfall increasing by 1%. GDP estimates remained flat, and the labour market continued to soften, with job adverts down 20% compared to the previous year.
The largest positive contributor during the month was Bloomsbury Publishing which reported strong Q2 performance, which was in line with recently upgraded guidance. Notable bestsellers from Sarah J. Maas and J.K. Rowling continued to drive sales within their consumer division. They also acquired Rowman and Littlefield's academic publishing business, enhancing digital resources and positioning Bloomsbury as a leading US academic publisher. Rosebank Industries, founded by ex-Melrose Industries executives, listed on AIM earlier in the month. The company employs a "Buy, Improve, Sell" strategy, acquiring and enhancing industrial businesses to boost performance before selling them. Investors reacted positively to the listing, with shares in high demand. Hill & Smith, Grafton and Breedon, all rose during the month, with resilient trading against a challenging economic backdrop and more importantly the potential to see strong gains as their end markets begin to recover.
Recruiter Robert Walters revealed a 15% decline in group net fee income compared to Q2 2023, reflecting challenging market conditions. The company's performance was impacted across all regions, with notable declines in the Asia Pacific and UK markets. The firm flagged that market confidence may not significantly improve until 2025, however we view this business as a market leader that will continue to focus on cost discipline through the challenging period and positioning itself for long-term growth. Shares in payments business Boku fell despite the company reporting solid trading in the first half of 2024, driven by increased transaction volumes from existing merchants. Another notable detractor, came from not owning Ascential, which received a bid at a large premium from Informa.
In summary, and as we have highlighted for a long period of time now, the current valuation of the UK market, and in particular UK small and mid-cap, is about as attractive as we have ever seen. Meanwhile, the economic backdrop is certainly improving. Unemployment remains low, balance sheets remain strong, inflation is falling, consumer confidence and PMIs (Purchasing Managers Index) are improving. This backdrop gives confidence that the earnings outlook for our businesses is broadly supportive for an earnings recovery. Meanwhile, Labour’s victory in the General Election could now mark the end of the persistent investor aversion from the UK and stem the outflows from UK small and mid-caps. Labour’s business friendly policies and some much-needed stability in government should provide a more positive backdrop for businesses to start investing with some level of certainty and for investors to once again look to the UK market for an attractive return. In this scenario, we could see an environment where small and mid-caps, and in particular the holdings in our portfolio, could move a long way on limited liquidity.
As ever, we remain focused on the micro, industry level change and stock specific analysis and the opportunities we are seeing today in our universe are as exciting as ever. Historically, periods of heightened volatility have been followed by strong returns for the strategy and presented excellent investment opportunities.
We thank shareholders for your ongoing support.
1Source: BlackRock as at 31 July 2024
2Source: Office for National Statistics as at 17 July 2024
Unless otherwise stated all data is sourced from BlackRock as at 31 July 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.
Roland Arnold is manager of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc and a member of the UK Equity Team. Mr Arnold has been co-manager of the BlackRock UK Special Situations Fund since August 2012, and manager of Small & Mid Cap UK Equity Portfolios since 2006. Roland’s service with the firm dates back to 2000, including his years with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM), which merged with BlackRock in 2006.
Roland Arnold
![Roland Arnold](/uk-retail-c-assets/cache-1587480784000/images/media-bin/web/uk-one/test/investment-trusts/portfolio-managers/arnold-ronald.jpg)
Board of directors
All of the Directors are independent of the management company and are members of the Management Engagement Committee. With the exception of the Chairman all Directors are members of the Audit Committee.
Ronald Gould (Chairman) was appointed to the Board in April 2019 and became chairman of the Company in June 2019. He is currently Chairman of Henderson Far East Income Trust plc, Think Alliance Asia and was previously Chairman of Credo Capital Partners AB, Compliance Science Ltd and a Non-Executive Director of the JPMorgan Asian Investment Trust plc. He was also previously Managing Director and Head of the Promontory Financial Group in China, CEO of Chi-X Asia Pacific, Senior Adviser to the UK Financial Services Authority, CEO of investment bank ABG Sundal Collier and Vice Chairman of Barclays Bank asset management activities.
Susan Platts-Martin (Senior Independent Director) appointed on 21 April 2016, is the Chairman of Baillie Gifford China Growth Trust plc and formerly sat on the Advisory Board of the Barings Targeted Return Fund. She previously acted as Protector of Power to Change Trust. A qualified chartered accountant with 26 years' experience in financial services, she was the first head of investment trusts at Fidelity International, responsible for establishing and growing a successful investment trust business. She has experience of both open and closed ended funds having also been director of product development and head of fund accounting at Fidelity.
Mark Little (Chairman of the Audit Committee) was appointed to the Board on 1 October 2020. He is a non-executive director and also chairs the audit committees of the Majedie Investment Trust Plc and Securities Trust of Scotland Plc and is a non-executive Director and audit committee chairman designate of the Abrdn Equity Income Trust plc. He was also previously Investment Director at Seven Investment Management and a non-executive director (and audit committee chairman) of Sanditon Investment Trust plc as well as a non-executive director for the start-up business UWI Technology and the charity Winning Scotland Foundation. Mr Little has a wealth of experience in the financial services sector, and began his career as a fund manager with Scottish Widows Investment Management after qualifying as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse in 1991. He subsequently worked as Global Head of Automotive Research for Deutsche Bank and joined Barclays Wealth in 2005, where he became Managing Director of Barclays Wealth (Scotland and Northern Ireland).
James Barnes was appointed to the Board on 31 July 2021. He is a Non-Executive Director and is also currently the Chairman of Vestey Holdings, the Horticultural Trades Association, Thirlstane Castle Trust and the Crieff Food Company and was previously a Director and Chairman of Dunedin Smaller Companies Trust plc. Mr Barnes was also previously a Director of Dobbies Garden Centres plc; he was instrumental in growing the business and leading its sale to Tesco in 2007. Mr Barnes has a wealth of experience in the financial services and UK smaller companies sector and began his career in corporate finance and investment banking.
Helen Sinclair was appointed to the Board on 1 March 2022. She began her career in investment banking and spent nearly eight years at 3i plc focusing on management buy-outs and growth capital investments. She later co-founded Matrix Private Equity (which became Mobeus Equity Partners) in 2000 and subsequently became Managing Director of the company before moving to take on a number of non-executive director roles. She is a non-executive director of WH Ireland Group plc, Shire Income plc and Sherborne Investors (Guernsey) C Limited and Chairman of Octopus Future Generations VCT PLC. Ms Sinclair was previously Chairman and non-executive director of British Smaller Companies VCT and a non-executive director of Mobeus Income & Growth 4 VCT plc and The Income & Growth VCT plc.
Dunke Afe was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2024 as a Non-Executive Director. She is an accomplished global marketing executive with extensive experience in raising brand awareness, delivering high-impact portfolio strategies and omni-channel marketing campaigns to drive business growth. She has previously worked with top blue chip multinationals including Unilever, Kimberly Clark and Estee Lauder. Ms Afe is also a Non-Executive Director of CT UK Capital and Income Investment Trust plc.