Highlights for the year:
Net Asset Value (NAV) Total Return of 8.1% and Total Shareholder Return (TSR) of 9.0% in 2014, a solid performance that ranked the Trust in the second quartile of all Global trusts on both NAV Total Return and TSR basis over the year
Total dividend, including a special dividend of 2.546p, rose significantly, by 14.3%. This represents the 48th year of consecutive dividend increases and equates to an effective yield at the year end of 2.6%
The share price (478.9p) and NAV per share (546.8p) were the highest year end levels in the history of the Trust and they have both since been exceeded
Ongoing Charges Ratio reduced by 20% to 0.60%
Greater emphasis on responsible investing and analysis of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) factors across the portfolio, following the changes to the equities investment team in September
Alliance Trust Investments (ATI) ended the year with third party assets under management (AUM) of £1.9bn, generating net inflows of £88m and reducing losses by 23% to £3.2m. ATI is now among the top three firms in the UK focused on sustainable investing. Inflows into ATI funds have continued in the first two months of 2015 and third party AUM now stand at over £2bn.
Alliance Trust Savings' (ATS) flat-fee charging structure is proving appealing to customers in a post-RDR world. Assets under administration (AUA) ended the year at £6.4bn. This is an increase of 19%, compared to market growth of 13%. This was despite the uncertainties surrounding the outcome of the referendum on Scottish independence. Since the start of 2015, AUA have increased a further 8% to £6.9bn
