LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The World Trust Fund
Fact Sheet – May 2012
Société d’Investissement à Capital Fixe
Registered office: 49, avenue J.F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, R.C.S. Luxembourg No. B 37.154
Commentary
Global equity markets sold off in May on renewed fears of a global crisis, as Europe faced an escalating debt crisis amid concerns of an imminent potential sovereign debt default in Greece and a banking crisis in Spain, a slowdown in China and stalled growth in the US. Tactical short positions in Europe and the emerging markets help defend, as did investments in Asia (Taiwan Fund, First Pacific) and in the USA (Tri-Continental Corp).
Fund Description
The Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of companies whose shares trade at a discount to the underlying net asset value. The Fund may also sell short stock indices, stocks, and shares of exchange-traded funds or closed-end funds, not exceeding 100% of the Fund’s net assets.
Lazard Asset Management LLC was appointed as Manager of The World Trust Fund at the inception of the Fund, July 1st, 1991.
Kun Deng is a Managing Director of Lazard Asset Management, responsible for the firm’s Discounted Assets Strategies in global, international, and emerging markets.
He has been advising the World Trust Fund since 1997. Kun has the CFA charter.
Lazard Asset Management is known for its global perspective on investing and years of experience with global, regional and domestic portfolios. With more than 250 investment personnel worldwide, and over $141.3 billion in assets under management, we have offices located throughout the world in Bahrain, Boston, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Milan, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Zurich.
Performance as of May 31, 2012
| Performance | MTD | YTD | 1-Year | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year | Annualized since inception** | ||||||||
| The World Trust Fund Price * (GBP) | -6.42% | 2.34% | -9.09% | 10.71% | -5.97% | 4.76% | 5.31% | ||||||||
| The World Trust Fund NAV (GBP) | -1.93% | 5.18% | -6.88% | 11.87% | -4.97% | 4.97% | 6.35% | ||||||||
| The World Trust Fund Price (US$) | -11.13% | 1.56% | -14.83% | 8.91% | -10.57% | 5.36% | 4.85% | ||||||||
|
The World Trust Fund NAV (US$) – Fully diluted |
-7.74% | 3.68% | -13.41% | 9.61% | -9.78% | 5.62% | 5.90% | ||||||||
| MSCI All Country World Index (US$) | -8.97% | 0.68% | -12.79% | 8.83% | -3.69% | 4.56% | 5.55% |
Source: Lazard Asset Management/MSCI
* As at 01.11.09 the currency in which the shares of the Fund are traded changed from US$ to GBP. Past performance data up to and including 31.10.09 has been re-calculated using exchange rates provided by Bloomberg. Past performance data from 01.11.09 is calculated using exchange rates provided by State Street Bank. The Fund’s base currency for valuation and performance fee calculation purposes remains as US$.
** Inception date 01.07.91
The base currency of the Fund is US$ and the GBP quoted figure is a sterling rate equivalent.
Regional Exposure
| Country | % | ||
| Asia (ex-Japan) | 25.2 | ||
| North America | 20.7 | ||
| Europe (ex-UK) | 17.2 | ||
| Japan | 7.9 | ||
| United Kingdom | 6.6 | ||
| Latin America, Africa & Middle East | 3.3 | ||
| Other | 6.1 |
Source: Lazard Asset Management
Top Holdings
| Top 10 holdings as at April 30, 2012 | Weight % | Discount % | |||
| First Pacific Co | 8.0 | -44.7 | |||
| JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Investment Trust | 4.2 | -15.9 | |||
| Eurazeo | 3.6 | -43.7 | |||
| China Everbright | 3.6 | -45.0 | |||
| JPMorgan Emerging Markets | 3.6 | -9.8 | |||
| Swiss Helvetia Fund Inc | 3.6 | -10.9 | |||
| General American Investors | 3.6 | -13.8 | |||
| Clough Global Opportunities | 3.4 | -15.2 | |||
| Polar Capital Technology Trust | 3.2 | -4.9 | |||
| Eaton Vance Tax Managed Global | 3.2 | -13.8 |
Source: Lazard Asset Management / Morningstar (unless otherwise stated)
Portfolio Composition
| Closed-Ended Investment Companies | 34.4% | ||
| Investment Trusts | 33.6% | ||
| Corporate Equities | 87.0% |
Source: Lazard Asset Management
Portfolio Exposure
| Long | 95.5% | ||
| Short | -8.5% |
Source: Lazard Asset Management
Fund Data
| GBP | US$ | ||||
| Market Capitalisation | 86.2m | 132.8m | |||
| Total Assets | 99.1m | 152.8m | |||
| Borrowings | Nil | Nil | |||
| Fully Diluted Net Asset Value | 2.01 | 3.10 | |||
| Market Price | 1.75 | 2.70 | |||
| Warrant Market Price | 6.5p | ||||
| Discount/Premium | -12.9% | ||||
Source: State Street Bank
Company Information as at April 30, 2012
| 54,040,764 Ordinary shares in issue (including 4,801,161 Treasury shares) = Luxembourg denominator | |||
| 49,236,603 Ordinary shares (excluding 4,801,161Treasury shares) = FSA denominator | |||
| Ticker: | WTR | ||
| ISIN: | LU0483266259 | ||
|
10,804,911 warrants remain outstanding from those admitted to trading on 9 September 2011. |
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| Ticker: | WTRW | ||
| ISIN: | LU0642053580 | ||
| Subscription: | US$3.23, if exercised on the Subscription Dates up to and including the last Business Day on March 2013, being a 1 per cent. premium to such NAV per share; and US$3.51 if exercised on the Subscription Dates in September 2013 and march 2014, being a 10 per cent. premium to such NAV per share. | ||
|
Benchmark: |
MSCI All Countries World Index |
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Contact Details
| Fund Manager: |
Lazard Asset Management LLC
30 Rockefeller Plaza New York NY 10112 USA Telephone: +1212 632 6000 |
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| Company Secretary: |
Capita Sinclair Henderson Ltd
Telephone: +44 1392 412122 |
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| Registered Office: |
Société d’Investissement à Capital Fixe
Registered office: 49, avenue J.F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, R.C.S. Luxembourg No. B 37.154 |
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| Directors: |
Philip McLoughlin (Chairman)
John Hignett Duncan Budge James Cave Howard Myles Alexander Zagoreos |
The Fund has recently launched a new website on which further copies of the Factsheet are available at:
Important Information
This is a financial promotion and is not intended to be investment advice.
Securities identified in this document are not necessarily held by Lazard Asset Management for all client portfolios, and should not be considered as a recommendation or solicitation to purchase, sell or hold these securities. It should also not be assumed that any investment in these securities was, or will be, profitable.
Information and opinions contained within this document are derived from sources believed by Lazard to be reliable. Lazard makes no representation as to their accuracy or completeness. All opinions are as at the date of this document and are subject to change without notice.
The World Trust Fund is an investment company incorporated in Luxembourg, whose shares are listed and traded on the London Stock Exchange.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested.
Investors are reminded that although the shares of the Fund are listed in GB sterling, the base currency of the Fund is US dollars. Therefore, in addition to the fluctuations in the rate of exchange between the currency in which shares are denominated (US$) and the base currencies of the underlying investments that may affect the value of your investment both positively and negatively, changes in rates of exchange between the Fund’s base currency and the currency in which it is listed (GBP) may also have the effect of causing the value of your investment to fluctuate.
Certain information included herein is derived by Lazard in part from an MSCI index or indices (the “Index Data”). However, MSCI has not reviewed this product or report, and does not endorse or express any opinion regarding this product or report or any analysis or other information contained herein or the author or source of any such information or analysis. MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any Index Data or data derived therefrom. The MSCI Index Data may not be further redistributed or used as a basis for other indices or any securities or financial products.
There is no assurance that the World Trust Fund’s objectives or performance targets will be achieved.
This financial promotion is issued and approved by:
Lazard Asset Management Limited, 50 Stratton Street, London W1J 8LL
Lazard Asset Management Limited is incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 525667. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority
Listing Category: Premium – Equity Closed-ended Investment Fund