In demand and no discount

”‹Seneca Global Income & Growth Trust’s (SIGT’s) new discount control policy went live on 1 August. The board believe that this should give investors confidence that they can enter and exit the trust close to NAV. To date, no shares have been repurchased. This could suggest that there is demand for SIGT’s strategy. SIGT’s NAV was not immune to the market’s post-Brexit gyrations but, as markets have settled, the UK mid-cap holdings have recovered strongly and the managers have also taken advantage of opportunities caused by the market’s sell-off, such that SIGT’s NAV is now some seven per cent above its pre-referendum level. The managers continue to view global fixed income assets as expensive, particularly once inflation is taken into account, but are seeing opportunities in property as well as longer-term opportunities in infrastructure. The board increased SIGT’s dividend, for the first quarterly payment, by 3.4% to 1.52p per share. They expect to maintain this for the rest of the year. This suggests a minimum payment of 6.08p, a yield of 3.9% on the current price. The managers say that there is the potential for the dividend to increase with the fourth interim, as in previous years.