Manchester & London Investment Trust ups payout; net asset value down
Manchester & London Investment Trust PLC on Wednesday said its net asset value per share total return was negative mostly due to Microsoft Corp, as it hailed the emergence of autonomous artificial intelligence agents as a ‘watershed moment’ in its outlook.
The technology-focused growth-stock investor said net asset value per share was 1,049.17 pence at January 31, down 2.6% from 1,077.29p at July 31.
NAV per share total return was negative 1.4%, with the company highlighting Microsoft as the primary reason for the decline. Shares in the Redmond, Washington-based technology company are 21% lower than six months ago.
Meanwhile, currency movements provided a further material headwind, Manchester & London Investment Trust added, amid a 3.7% appreciation in sterling against the dollar during the six months to January 31.
The largest impact on return by far was foreign exchange, operating costs & financing which had a drag of 4.3%.
For its underlying sector holdings in local currency, the company said technology returned a gain of 2.5%, while consumer had a return of negative 0.5%.
The firm proposed an interim dividend of 20.00 pence per share, up sharply from 7.00p a year ago. However, it proposed no special dividend compared to 7.00p a year earlier.
Looking ahead, Chair Daniel Wright said: ‘The emergence of autonomous artificial intelligence agents in 2026 marks a watershed moment, comparable in significance to the launch of ChatGPT. In our view, this development reinforces the critical necessity of the infrastructure required to support these models, underpinning our conviction that the AI buildout has many years yet to run. It is becoming clear that AI agents are a serious substitute to humans in the undertaking of various functions within an enterprise. However, we anticipate this will precipitate further disruption to legacy business models, potentially impacting even those incumbents currently viewed as ’safe’.’
He added: ‘Within the AI sector itself, market leadership is increasingly fluid; the fortunes of individual companies can pivot sharply on perceptions of success, with single model releases capable of driving significant share price movements. Furthermore, the rapid pace of technological change within AI infrastructure is driving pronounced volatility where a stock can go from market darling to being perceived technologically obsolete in a matter of weeks. Consequently, 2026 represents perhaps the most complex environment for stock selection in the manager’s decade-long tenure, a landscape offering exceptional opportunity, but accompanied by elevated disruption risk.’
Shares in Manchester & London Investment Trust were 0.3% higher at 770.00 pence each on Wednesday afternoon in London.
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