Murray International (MYI) - Half Year Report for June 2023

[Itsallaguess]

‎
Murray International Trust (MYI)

Half-Yearly report for the six months ended 30th June 2023

Financial Highlights -



Report link and above image source - https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/murray-international-trust--myi/half-year-report/7689831


MYI has tapered it's dividend growth in recent years, as we can see from the chart below -



Source - https://www.dividenddata.co.uk/dividend-history.py?epic=MYI


Whilst that might be the case, it's interesting to see in these recent half-year results that they're managing to re-build their Revenue-Reserves even in the current poor economic climate -




Source - https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/murray-international-trust--myi/half-year-report/7689831

that might only be a slight increase in reserves, but hopefully it indicates a positive direction of travel that can be maintained and built upon, as MYI holders then look towards the possibility of them resuming an improved yearly increase in their dividend payouts...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Dod101]

Thanks IAAG. These numbers are typical for this conservatively run IT and in the current climate seem to me to be quite encouraging.

However you missed the most important piece of news, the announcement of the retirement of Bruce Stout at the end of June 2024. I think continuity in managers, especially successful ones, is important, and we have had continuity from Bruce Stout. I enjoy reading his often acerbic comments on the economic scene, written no doubt from a deep understanding and a great deal of experience. I hope his successors are at least as good.

Dod

[staffordian]

Thanks IAAG. These numbers are typical for this conservatively run IT and in the current climate seem to me to be quite encouraging.

However you missed the most important piece of news, the announcement of the retirement of Bruce Stout at the end of June 2024. I think continuity in managers, especially successful ones, is important, and we have had continuity from Bruce Stout. I enjoy reading his often acerbic comments on the economic scene, written no doubt from a deep understanding and a great deal of experience. I hope his successors are at least as good.

Dod

This from the report sounds reassuring...

Manager Succession

As many Shareholders will be aware, Bruce Stout has been the Company's lead investment manager since 2004. During that time, he has been assisted by Martin Connaghan and Samantha Fitzpatrick. In fact, both have worked with Bruce since 2001, when they joined what was then Aberdeen Asset Management from Murray Johnstone. Over recent years, Martin and Samantha's input into the management of the portfolio, and the Company itself, has increased and many of you may have met or heard from them at meetings or presentations, including AGMs and online webinars. Bruce has now advised us of his intention to retire at the end of June 2024. I am delighted to announce that Martin and Samantha will take on co-managerial responsibility for the Company's investments alongside Bruce with immediate effect, thereby ensuring the smoothest of handovers and no change in abrdn's approach to the investment management of the Company going forward. It is premature of me to thank Bruce for all his efforts on behalf of the Company and I am sure that many of you will have the opportunity to do so personally in the run-up to his departure in just under a year's time.

[Itsallaguess]

‎
A recent thread over on the IT board is discussing an article about current Investment Trusts discounts -

Is it time to bag an investment trust bargain?

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=40526

Related to that discussion, I took the opportunity to top up my Murray International holding last Friday with a chunk of accumulated dividends, and at a current yield of around 4.6% and with the admiral dividend record shown in the first post on this MYI thread (https://i.imgur.com/1R0hija.png), I was happy to pick up some more MYI at a current discount of around 6.3% -




Source - https://www.theaic.co.uk/companydata/murray-international-trust

Murray International is just the sort of low-charging, globally-diversified income-IT that I'm happy to hold for the longer term, and being able to pick it up at a relative discount is always a nice opportunity.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Arborbridge]

‎
A recent thread over on the IT board is discussing an article about current Investment Trusts discounts -

Is it time to bag an investment trust bargain?

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=40526

Related to that discussion, I took the opportunity to top up my Murray International holding last Friday with a chunk of accumulated dividends, and at a current yield of around 4.6% and with the admiral dividend record shown in the first post on this MYI thread (https://i.imgur.com/1R0hija.png), I was happy to pick up some more MYI at a current discount of around 6.3% -




Source - https://www.theaic.co.uk/companydata/murray-international-trust

Murray International is just the sort of low-charging, globally-diversified income-IT that I'm happy to hold for the longer term, and being able to pick it up at a relative discount is always a nice opportunity.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

I have some spare cash in that account, and MYI is as good as any other choice there, I believe - so I will be adding. Now the summer "closed season" is ended*, I can get back to a little topping up.


*holidays and time away does not sit easily with sober investments decisions. Very disruptive Or one could say, that sitting at home in the winter, the Devil makes work for idle clickers.

Arb.

[simoan]

I would be very careful using the NAV shown on the AIC website. I have no idea how they calculate it and it rarely matches up with the NAV released by IT’s I have followed in the past. You should really refer to the companies own numbers if you are going to buy based purely on the discount to NAV. These are released every day around lunchtime. You will find there are 4 different NAVs for MYI - no idea which one the AIC use. Personally I’d be conservative and use the NAV with debt valued at Par.

[Itsallaguess]

I would be very careful using the NAV shown on the AIC website. I have no idea how they calculate it and it rarely matches up with the NAV released by IT’s I have followed in the past. You should really refer to the companies own numbers if you are going to buy based purely on the discount to NAV. These are released every day around lunchtime. You will find there are 4 different NAVs for MYI - no idea which one the AIC use. Personally I’d be conservative and use the NAV with debt valued at Par.

I did check on the MYI site itself to see what their own discount figure was, and it aligned with the 6.32% discount shown on the AIC site -

https://www.murray-intl.co.uk/en-gb/prices-and-performance

You're right that it's worthwhile corroborating these types of things though, and I certainly do so before carrying out any type of personal investment when using third-party data as part on an initial filtering process, so thanks for mentioning this.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[scrumpyjack]

I find the easiest place to find these NAVs is on the Stock Exchange website

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/sto ... mpany-page

You do need to clear the box limiting announcements to only earnings and news.

This then shows each daily NAV announcement.

My preference is for the Fair value including income (258.79p).

In the past some ITs (eg Brunner) have had large debenture debt at very high interest rates (11% in their case as I recall). In that case par value significantly understates the real liability.

[Dod101]

I find the easiest place to find these NAVs is on the Stock Exchange website

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/sto ... mpany-page

You do need to clear the box limiting announcements to only earnings and news.

This then shows each daily NAV announcement.

My preference is for the Fair value including income (258.79p).

In the past some ITs (eg Brunner) have had large debenture debt at very high interest rates (11% in their case as I recall). In that case par value significantly understates the real liability.

We can usually assume that IT debt is held to maturity and so the current value is not so relevant. There cannot in any case be very many ITs holding historically high interest debentures nowadays. Most will have either matured or in a few cases been bought out and replaced with borrowings on much lower costs, which have been available until very recently. In fact the Boards of any ITs still holding expensive historical debt ought to be sacked for negligence.

Dod

[richfool]

Scrumpyjack did say: "in the past".

[Arborbridge]

I find the easiest place to find these NAVs is on the Stock Exchange website

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/sto ... mpany-page

You do need to clear the box limiting announcements to only earnings and news.

This then shows each daily NAV announcement.

My preference is for the Fair value including income (258.79p).

In the past some ITs (eg Brunner) have had large debenture debt at very high interest rates (11% in their case as I recall). In that case par value significantly understates the real liability.

So, for MYI a discount about 1% less than showing of AIC. Significant for an already small discount.

Thanks for the method you show.

Arb.

[scrumpyjack]

Scrumpyjack did say: "in the past".

Quite and it cost Brunner £39m to redeem early a £28m loan back in 2018. They had other even more expensive loans, now all redeemed (at a cost).

That illustrates why fair value is a safer measure than par value.

[Dod101]

Scrumpyjack did say: "in the past".

Quite and it cost Brunner £39m to redeem early a £28m loan back in 2018. They had other even more expensive loans, now all redeemed (at a cost).

That illustrates why fair value is a safer measure than par value.

I do not disagree for Brunner but for every Brunner there may well be another which just leaves expensive debt to mature. Edinburgh IT was one. It must be a finely balanced judgement to decide which is best, buying out the debt early, almost inevitably at a premium or leaving it to maturity and paying the higher interest charges, the one presumably being a charge to Capital and the other to Revenue.

In any case, I wonder how much influence discount to NAV really has on demand for an IT's shares?

Dod

[midgesgalore]

‎
A recent thread over on the IT board is discussing an article about current Investment Trusts discounts -

Is it time to bag an investment trust bargain?

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=40526

Related to that discussion, I took the opportunity to top up my Murray International holding last Friday with a chunk of accumulated dividends, and at a current yield of around 4.6% and with the admiral dividend record shown in the first post on this MYI thread (https://i.imgur.com/1R0hija.png), I was happy to pick up some more MYI at a current discount of around 6.3% -




Source - https://www.theaic.co.uk/companydata/murray-international-trust

Murray International is just the sort of low-charging, globally-diversified income-IT that I'm happy to hold for the longer term, and being able to pick it up at a relative discount is always a nice opportunity.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

I recently got my wife to start an ISA and purchased 2 ITs
Muray International, MYI, and Foreign & Colonial, FCIT
Going forward I have no plans to add other investment companies but so long as there is money in future years to invest into the ISA the positions will be added to at 50% each.

My expectations are:
FCIT to produce the capital gain
MYI to produce the dividends which will pay for the account charges and, over time, supplement income

I know there are other global type investments but I want this simple for her. FCIT has been running for donkeys and I would like to think it would keep going another 20 years the same - on average.

midgesgalore

[Dod101]

Alliance is doing the business for me re capital and indeed income. In its relatively new guise it compares well with the likes of F & C, but I like all three ITs. Do not currently hold F & C.

Dod

[midgesgalore]

Alliance is doing the business for me re capital and indeed income. In its relatively new guise it compares well with the likes of F & C, but I like all three ITs. Do not currently hold F & C.

Dod

I could have picked any of a few global growth ITs (well 3 stick out - Alliance, Brunner and FCIT) however I decided since FCIT had such a long track record it was good enough for my purposes. I'm keeping her portfolio simple as she has absolutely no interest in managing investments.
The main thing is I chose FCIT as a global IT for growth (with a 1% dividend) and Murray International IT has a fair old dividend to bring in some cash.

midgesgalore