Securities Trust of Scotland (STS) has announced that board member John Evans will take over as Chairman, replacing the retiring Rachel Beagles in the role.
He will start work in his new position in September, after spending nine years on the board.
STS targets rising income and long-term capital growth through investment in a balanced portfolio of global equities. Last year, the trust changed from benchmarking performance to an unconstrained strategy.
Rachel Beagles, Chairman, Securities Trust of Scotland commented: “John is a highly experienced director and Chairman and I know that shareholders will be very well served under his leadership. I have enjoyed meeting many of our shareholders whilst Chairman, and I would like to thank them for their support for the Company during this period.”
The appointment comes the same day STS has released its annual results. The results show that STS has delivered an 11.4 percent 11.4% NAV return and a total dividend for the year of 6.25p, which represents a rise of 2.5 percent on the previous year.
Mark Whitehead, Portfolio Manager, Securities Trust of Scotland also outlined the current market outlook, which he believes requires a defensive stance across the industry in the new few months. He argues that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates, and is likely to cut them across 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, he predicts that the Chinese markets will rebound die to tax and interest rate cuts potentially stimulating domestic activity despite the enveloping trade conflict between China and the US. He also suggests that clarity on the future direction of Brexit would be well-received by the markets.
He added: “The current market outlook in our view demands a much more careful stock-picking mentality, a laser focus on corporate margin pressure, and a keen eye on valuation. We don’t expect strong price moves from here, and bouts of volatility should be expected. This will surely be a much better backdrop for high-quality, cash-generative businesses that are able to distribute sustainable, growing dividends to investors. These may well make up most of the real equity market return for some time.”
