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Edison Investment Research Limited
London, UK, 21 November 2023
Edison issues update on The European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT): Top of the peer group over short and long term The European Smaller Companies Trust’s (ESCT’s) manager, Ollie Beckett at Janus Hendersons Investors (JHI), remains very positive about the outlook for European small-cap companies, which is reflected in a relatively high level of gearing of c 15%. He considers the last three years, where small-cap stocks have lagged the performance of large-cap equities, an anomaly and a result of macroeconomic events and recession fears, which have led to elevated investor risk aversion. The manager believes that the current valuation of the trust’s benchmark, the MSCI Europe ex UK Small Cap Index, provides a very attractive entry point to the asset class. ESCT’s portfolio of reasonably valued stocks with exposure across the company life cycle has a commendable performance track record, with its NAV total return ranking first out of the four funds in the AIC European Smaller Companies sector over the last one, three, five and 10 years. ESCT also looks attractive from a valuation perspective with a discount wider than its historical averages and those of its sector peers. While the primary focus is capital growth, the trust’s board employs a progressive dividend policy. The FY23 annual dividend of 4.70p per share was 8.0% higher year-on-year. About Edison: Edison is a leading research and investor relations consultancy, connecting listed companies to the widest pool of global investors. By focusing on the volume and quality of investors reached – across institutions, family offices, wealth managers and retail investors – Edison can create and gauge intent to purchase, even in the darkest pools of capital, and then make introductions via non-deal roadshows, events or virtual meetings. Having been the first company in-market 17 years ago, Edison has more than 100 employees and covers every economic sector. Headquartered in London, Edison also has offices in New York, Sydney and Wellington. Edison is authorised and regulated by the . Edison is not an adviser or broker-dealer and does not provide investment advice. Edison’s reports are not solicitations to buy or sell any securities. For more information, please contact Edison: Mel Jenner +44 (0)20 3077 5700 Learn more at and connect with Edison on: YouTube
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1778765 21-Nov-2023
