Big oil bumps Finsbury Growth & Income NAV down 2% in September
Nick Train (pictured) is the manager of the Finsbury Growth & Income trust.
The trust's share price was also down by 2.2% on a total return basis, while the FTSE All-Share index gained 1.8% during the month.
Over a three-month period, FGT's NAV is down 3.8%, compared to a 1.9% return for the index. The NAV is up 7% in the year-to-date, failing to beat the index's 10.4% return.
In the trust's latest factsheet, Train said the last three months were «unhelpful» for the portfolio, and attributed this to the knock-on effect of oil and some metal companies' share price rises, which hurt relative performance due to FGT's lack of exposure to commodities.
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Another knock to the portfolio was falls in the share price of some of the trust's consumer brands, especially those with luxury or premium products, with high interest rates and input costs leading to caution about the short-term outlook for consumer spending.
Diageo was down 9% over the quarter and Burberry down 10%, both key holdings for the trust, with the drinks maker accounting for 9.9% of the portfolio and the luxury fashion brand making up 8%.
Train reiterated his strategy, which is «based on the assumption that the next decade will be marked by rapid productivity gains and wealth creation» driven by digital technology. According to the manager, this will drive spending on the kind of luxury goods the trust's holdings provide.
In better news, shares in RELX, the trust's biggest holding (12.4%), rose by 6% in the third quarter of the year, and Sage shares, in which the trust has an 8.4% stake, increased by the same, with both hitting all-time high share prices.
Hende
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