I watch two of my investments more closely than the others.
One is not on life support or anything like, but it has been rather poorly recently: Rothschild Investment Trust (RIT). I get monthly updates and there is no improvement. The share price is stuck at around £18 and the Net Asset Value at the end of August was £25.80 up 20p from the end of July. RIT are stoic.
“RIT’s NAV per share total return for August 2024 was +0.8%. The increase in the value of our portfolio was driven by positive performance across each of our three strategic investment pillars including Quoted Equities, Private Investments and Uncorrelated Strategies. Our meaningful US dollar position detracted from returns as sterling strengthened by 2.1%. Year to date, RIT’s NAV per share total return was +7.2%.” (RIT Announcement)
The fact of the matter is RIT has fallen out of favour with investors, like Monks did before Charles Plowden became manager, and like Monks I hope the share price will reflect the underlying value eventually.
The other investment I keep a close eye on is MP Evans, primarily producing palm oil in Indonesia. I positively gloat over their trading statements. The numbers speak for themselves.
You may have read of plans for the EU to restrict imports of palm oil from plantations that have been subject to recent deforestation. In theory this should be beneficial to MPE. All six of their mills sell certified sustainable palm oil, any new land acquired is already deforested, although that’s not how they would describe it, and this is all unimportant as EU countries only buy 7% of global palm oil production.
I almost forgot – shares in MPE should be free of Inheritance Tax after they have been held for two years but obviously the rules may change. Meanwhile the company pays pretty good dividends to spend while I’m alive.
Management at RIT and MPE continue share buy back programmes. I have topped up my holding in RIT again this year.
Simon Raven was a friend of mine – he died over 20 years ago – and we played cricket for a touring side called The Trogs (one ‘g’ no relation to Reg Presley). Most lately I re-read Shadows on the grass
Simon Raven wrote this epitaph for himself: “He shared his bottle – and, when still young and appetising, his bed.” I wrote this obituary.
A man of letters ahead of his betters.
His pellucid style sometimes tinged with bile
So much more droll than that old fool Powell.
Impecunious, morally dubious,
But how frightfully sad to lose such an adorable cad.
“Cast a cold eye”, if you remember your Yeats,
Now he too is among the greats.
Just a stone remains on which is graven
Simon Arthur Noël Raven.