THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
Annual Report, 30 November 2024
A GLOBAL EQUITY INVESTMENT TRUST
The Brunner
Investment Trust PLC
Capital growth and dividends
The Brunner Investment Trust PLC (Brunner)
aims to provide growth in capital value and
dividends for investors over the long term
through investing in a portfolio of global and
UK equities.
The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on
page 16 show how effective the company
has been in delivering its strategy.
‘All-weather’ portfolio
The company provides a balanced
solution for investors looking for a global
and UK portfolio of equities and a quarterly
dividend. The company’s investment
policy is set out in the Strategic Report on
page 11.
Independence
Brunner has an independent board of
directors and no employees. Like many
other investment companies, it outsources
investment management and administration
to an investment management company
– Allianz Global Investors – and other third
parties to provide shareholders with an
efficient, competitive, cost-effective way
to gain wide equity investment exposure
through a single investment vehicle.
The Brunner Investment Trust PLC
Like many long-established investment
trusts, Brunner’s name reflects its history
rather than its investment strategy. Johannes
Brunner was born in Canton Zürich and
migrated to Lancashire in 1832. His son, Sir
John Brunner, Bart, was one of the most
successful industrialists of the nineteenth
century, and in politics an influential radical
Liberal MP until well into the twentieth
century. In 1873 he and the scientist Ludwig
Mond founded Brunner, Mond and Co,
the largest of the four companies which
came together to form ICI in 1926. The
following year the Brunner family chose
to sell its ICI shares and establish a broad,
long-term investment vehicle – so in 1927,
The Brunner Investment Trust was formed.
John Brunner was a passionate campaigner,
including for welfare reforms and free
trade, and used his wealth for philanthropic
purposes. Jim Sharp, a director of the
company, is connected to the Brunner
family by marriage and continues the
link between board and family. Brunner
family share ownership information is
included on pages 62 and 64.
A family investment from the beginning…
Benchmark
For the year under review the benchmark
against which the portfolio is measured was
a composite of 70% FTSE World Ex UK Index
and 30% FTSE All-Share Index.
Association of Investment Companies
Brunner is a member of the Association
of Investment Companies (AIC) and the
company’s shares are recognised by the
AIC as suitable for retail investors. AIC
Category: Global.
Risk and gearing
A statement explaining how the assets have
been invested to spread risk and how gearing
is managed is included under Investment
Policy on page 12.
Sir John BrunnerBrunner, Mond & Co. factory, worker cottages and Co-operative Society
A GLOBAL EQUITY INVESTMENT TRUST
1
Contents
WWW.BRUNNER.CO.UK
The fountain photograph on the cover of this report is inspired by the Arms of the Brunner family.
The family originated from Switzerland and ’Brunnen’ is German for fountain.
2
11
25
57
77
103
Overview
2 Financial highlights
5 Chair’s Statement
9 Performance – review of the year
10 Historical record
Strategic Report
12 Introduction
13 Section 172 report
16 Key Performance Indicators
18 Risk report
23 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Issues
Investment Manager’s Review
26 Portfolio Managers’ report
41 Investment philosophy and stock selection process
43 Company engagement activities
44 Environmental, Social and Governance performance
45 Top twenty holdings
50 Portfolio analysis
52 Listed equity holdings
55 Distribution of invested funds
Governance
58 Directors, Manager and advisers
61 Directors’ Report
66 Corporate Governance Statement
68 Management Engagement Committee Report
69 Nomination Committee Report
70 Remuneration Committee Report
73 Audit Committee Report
76 Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities in respect
of the financial statements
Financial Statements
78 Independent auditors’ report to the members of
The Brunner Investment Trust PLC
84 Income Statement
85 Balance Sheet
86 Statement of Changes in Equity
87 Cash Flow Statement
88 Statement of Accounting Policies
90 Notes to the Financial Statements
Investor Information
104 Investor information (unaudited)
107 Notice of Meeting
111 Glossary
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
2
Financial highlights
For the year ended 30 November 2024
Dakeng, Taichung, Taiwan.
Taiwanese semiconductor giant
TSMC was the largest contributor
to performance in the year.
2
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
3
OVERVIEW
Discount – average in the year
2
4.6%
2023
11.5%
Earnings per ordinary share
27.4p
2023 26.4p
+3.8%
Dividend per ordinary share
3
23.75p
2023 22.7p
+4.6%
Net assets per ordinary share
1
Debt at fair value
2
1,459.6p
2023 1,258.6p
+16.0%
Share price total return
2 5
+39.3%
2024 1,460.0p
2023 1,065.0p
Net assets per ordinary share
1
Debt at Par
1,438.8p
2023 1,237.2p
+16.3%
Consumer price index
+2.6%
2024 135.1
2023 131.7
Benchmark total return index
4
+23.6%
2023
+5.5%
Net Asset Value total return
Debt at fair value
2
+17.9%
2023
+8.7%
Net Asset Value total return
Debt at par
2
+18.2%
2023
+8.2%
Revenue reserves per ordinary
share for the year
33.0p
2023
29.6p
All figures are UK GAAP unless they are stated to be Alternative Performance Measures. (Glossary page 111).
1
All references to Net Asset Value (NAV) in our commentary and the Strategic Report are to NAV with debt at fair value since this is the
measure that the board considers best reflects the value to shareholders. However, NAV with debt at par value is reported above and in
the Performance – review of the year on page 9.
2
Alternative Performance Measures (APM). See Glossary on page 111.
3
The dividend
per ordinary share includes the proposed final dividend of 6.05p.
4
The benchmark index of 70% FTSE World Ex UK Index and 30% FTSE All-
Share Index.
5
Share price total return is based on the movement in share price including dividends reinvested.
3
OVERVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
4
0.48p
1972
23.75p
4,947.9%
(CAGR 7.6%)
2
1,748.5%
2024
1
of continual
dividend growth
yrs
53
1973
Britain joins
the European
Community
1973
Yom Kippur
war
1974
Bear market
1976
Britain borrows
money from
the IMF
1979
‘Winter of
Discontent’
1982
Economic
recession
leads to high
unemployment
in the UK
1984
12-month UK
miners’ strike
1986
‘Big Bang’
enhances
London’s status
as a financial
capital
1987
‘Black
Monday’
200
0
Beginning of
the end of the
dot-com boom
2001
9/11
2003
The Second
Gulf War
2008
Financial crisis
2016
Brexit vote
2020
COVID-19
pandemic
2022
Invasion
of Ukraine
Inflation growth of 1,748.5% over the period. RPI 1972-1986. CPI 1987-2024.
Total dividend: from 0.48p to 23.75p over the period
1
Final dividend for approval at the 2025 AGM.
Brunner dividend growth of 4,947.9% over the period.
2
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.6%.
4
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
5
Chair’s Statement
The increased demand for Brunner shares resulted
in the share price discount to Net Asset Value
narrowing considerably, followed by a period where
it went to a premium – trading above NAV.
Dear Shareholder,
I wanted to start by sharing the
excitement of your board and managers
that, in the past year, our trust won
the ‘Investment Company of the
Year – Global’ award from Investment
Week and was promoted to the FTSE
250 Index.
Welcome
A warm welcome to shareholders old
and new – those that have been with us
on a longer journey over many years and
through various market cycles and those
joining more recently. Brunner pleasingly
saw a marked increase in demand in
the second half of the financial year, so
as well as thanking those longer-term
shareholders who may have topped-
up or more materially increased their
holdings, we also have the pleasure of
welcoming many new holders. I hope
that whichever of these categories you
fall into that you are pleased with your
investment in the trust and will have
many fruitful years with Brunner as a
part of your own investment portfolio.
We will cover it more formally, but I
would like to note that the increased
demand for Brunner shares resulted in
the share price discount to Net Asset
Value (NAV) narrowing considerably,
followed by a period where it went
to a premium – trading above NAV.
That scenario allowed us to issue new
shares for the first time, something
that will benefit existing as well as new
shareholders as we will describe later.
As noted, the year culminated with the
long-term performance and success of
the strategy being recognised with a
win in the Investment Week ‘Investment
Company of the Year Awards’ – a
badge now proudly displayed on the
cover of this report. This recognises the
efforts of a large team – from the board
through the investment manager, our
many advisers and suppliers and all
those looking after the promotion and
distribution of our shares. The award
not only examines the performance
record over a three year period but also
looks at many other factors such as
the investment approach, how we look
at risk, and how we make use of the
investment trust structure.
Global backdrop
2024 provided no shortage of world
events and geopolitical shocks,
continuing the trend of the past many
years. In a year that saw a heating up
of the space race, Paris host the latest
Olympic Games and significant surges
forward in the development of AI, we
also witnessed political upheaval and
regime changes in a year dominated by
elections across the globe, the ongoing
Russian offensive in Ukraine and further
globally-unsettling conflict engulfing the
Middle East.
Whilst these many events inevitably
drove some market volatility, overall
global markets managed to continue
trending upwards and provided good
gains again this year, though somewhat
more selectively compared to other
years when disaggregating geographies
and sectors. The US in particular has
surged further forward and cemented
its ‘leadership’ position in equity market
terms – the
Portfolio Managers’ Report
starting on page 26 looks at this
in more detail and we would like to
commend shareholders to read that
OVERVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
6
We are pleased to
see further efforts by
regulators and the
industry in general to
ensure fair treatment
of investors in terms of
ESG and sustainability
in relation to
investments.
detailed analysis of the drivers and make
up of that stock market dominance, as
well as the examination of if that scenario
can continue.
Performance
Against this volatile backdrop,
Brunner was unfortunately unable to
extend its previous five year record
of outperformance, this year trailing
its benchmark over the year to 30
November 2024. Brunner’s NAV per
ordinary share total return (calculated on
a net dividends reinvested basis with debt
at fair value) was +17.9%, versus +23.6%
for the composite benchmark (70% FTSE
World Ex. UK / 30% FTSE All-Share). By
virtue of the strongly narrowing discount,
the share price return recorded was some
measure ahead however at +39.3%.
Although the NAV return generated by
the portfolio was behind benchmark,
this should be viewed in the context
of continued narrow dominance in
terms of companies and sectors driving
overall market performance. Without
any need to paraphrase, I include the
following quote from the
Portfolio
Managers’ Report
which neatly sums up
the main reasons for falling behind the
benchmark this year, but also describes
the counterbalance that the associated
positioning remains appropriate in their
view and aligned with Brunner’s long
term strategy.
‘Most of the underperformance is best
explained at the stock level within the
Financials and Technology sectors. Both
of these important sectors roared ahead.
Our holdings participated but did not
keep up. To a large extent, this reflects
our balanced approach, but also our
bias to prudency. For example, within
the diverse Financials sector our skew
is to higher quality, recurring fee-based
business models. This year saw the
outperformance of lower quality, more
asset intensive businesses like traditional
banks and insurers. We had exposure
here, but not enough to keep up with the
market. Where we have exposure, it is
generally at the less levered and less risky
end of the spectrum. This means that we
always run the risk of underperforming
in a cyclical rally, as happened this
year, but we should be better protected
on the downside in the event of a
cyclical downturn.’
Ultimately, our ‘All-Weather’ approach
does not mean chasing some kind
of absolute return or constant
outperformance of the benchmark –
rather it means the pursuit of consistent
performance, delivered with a strong
focus on risk management, finding
companies with dominant market
positions that the portfolio managers
believe should provide steady long-term
returns for shareholders.
We believe that, over time, we
continue to demonstrate the substance
of our ‘all weather global equity
portfolio’ claim, providing solid returns
through a variety of market and
macroeconomic conditions.
Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG)
As noted in previous reporting, whilst
the strategy of the trust does not aim to
meet any specific sustainability criteria,
the board remains of the view that it is
in shareholders’ interests to be aware of
and consider environmental, social and
governance factors when selecting and
retaining investments. Active stewardship
is a key task of any responsible
asset owner.
We give a full and clear account of ESG
considerations within this report (see
page 23). We also have a page on our
website that describes the investment
manager’s ESG processes in more detail.
Over the year the board has maintained
a focus on understanding the investment
manager’s approach to ESG and
how it has been integrated within the
investment process. We take account
of our performance in this area against
our objectives using both the investment
manager’s internal analysis and external
measures and benchmarks.
We are pleased to see further efforts by
regulators and the industry in general to
ensure fair treatment of investors in terms
of ESG and sustainability in relation to
investments. The latest of these moves
is the SDR (Sustainability Disclosure
Requirements) regulation which is
now in place and aims to harmonise
sustainability naming conventions as
well as requiring investment managers to
meet certain criteria in the management
of a portfolio should they want to claim
any sustainability credentials in their
fund names or marketing materials. In
addition, the regulation aims to ensure
that nothing either explicitly or implicitly
creates the impression of sustainability
7
if it does not genuinely exist (known
as greenwashing).
Earnings per share
Over the past year our portfolio
companies have been able to continue
paying dividends at levels that meant
the portfolio’s generation of income and
earnings grew once more through 2024,
with earnings per share for the year rising
by 3.8%, from 26.4p to 27.4p. This has
put Brunner in the strong position once
again to be able to cover our increased
dividend payment to shareholders and
still put a sizeable amount into revenue
reserves to help with any future dividend
drought, such as that witnessed during
the pandemic.
Dividend
The proposed final dividend of 6.05p, if
approved by shareholders, will be paid
on 4 April 2025 to shareholders on the
register on 21 February 2025, with an
ex-dividend date of 20 February 2025.
For those shareholders in the Dividend
Reinvestment Plan (DRIP), the last date
for this will be 7 March 2025. In line with
board’s dividend policy, which is outlined
on page 16, the total dividend for 2024,
including the proposed final dividend, will
be 23.75p. This represents an increase
of 4.6% over the 2023 dividend which
was 22.7p and means Brunner has now
reached 53 years of consecutive dividend
increases, remaining in place near the top
of the AIC’s ‘Dividend Heroes’ list.
Revenue reserves will remain strong at
32.6p after the payment of the proposed
final dividend.
Marketing and discount
We have spoken previously about our
belief in the power of demand generation
through effective promotional activity
being a stronger lever than purely
financial measures such as share buy
backs for narrowing the trust’s discount.
As illustration of this, without having to
buy back any stock, but by highlighting
Brunner’s steady philosophy and
approach, combined with our notable
long-term performance and lower
volatility versus some peers, has seen us
progress from a double-digit discount
at the start of the financial year to
a premium at the end of the year. In
the latter half of the year a definite
momentum appeared in the trading of
the company’s shares, which combined
with our entry into the FTSE 250 to spark
even further investor interest. This in turn
led to Brunner issuing shares for the first
time. The board very carefully considered
the issuance of new ordinary shares when
the shares began to trade at a premium
and issued when it became clear that
it would be destabilising to existing
shareholders not to go ahead.
Share issuance will only be carried out
when the trust is trading at an established
premium to Net Asset Value – thereby
being naturally accretive to existing
shareholders. In addition, the organic
growing of the otherwise fixed pool of
capital is beneficial to investors both in
terms of additional investable capital
being available to the managers but also
allowing fixed costs to be spread over
a wider share base, thereby marginally
reducing their impact.
Cost disclosure
2024 was the year that the investment
trust industry consolidated behind a
rallying cry of ‘disclose but don’t double
count’. There were certainly nuances to
the debate, but credit must go to the
campaigners who tirelessly brought the
campaign up from its genesis to the
eventual curtailment of the perpetuation
of misleading information requirements
and the commitment of the UK
Government to make the FCA re-think the
application of disclosure requirements
for investor protection, to the particular
model that investment trusts fall into.
We supported our manager’s initial
conservative stance, wanting to make
sure we were not barred from being
traded by retail investors on the
investment ‘platforms’, and we have
encouraged our manager to take
advantage of the interim rulings to
harmonise the Key Information Document
to include the same ongoing charge
figure as we disclose in this report
in accordance with the Association
of Investment Companies (AIC)
methodology, rather than the previous
European-derived PRIIPS (packaged
retail and insurance-based investment
products) methodology which was felt
to be misleading for investment trusts.
Furthermore there is now a narrative
statement within that document, as well
as on our monthly factsheets, the essence
of which is to remind prospective investors
and shareholders that the ‘charges’
disclosed are already accounted for
within the NAV and therefore also the
price paid – investors do not have to pay
any further charges to their investment
trust or its manager after purchasing
shares, though of course the platform or
stockbroker used to execute the trade will
likely levy some kind of charge.
There will be further changes in terms
of cost disclosure over the coming year.
There is an ongoing FCA consultation on
its proposed CCI (Consumer Composite
Investments) regime, which will replace
PRIIPS. There is concern in the investment
trust industry that current proposals could
be as unfavourable as PRIIPS, though we
are not at the final point yet and lobbying
continues from the AIC and many other
market participants. From Brunner’s
Share issuance will only be carried out when the
trust is trading at an established premium to Net
Asset Value – thereby being naturally accretive to
existing shareholders.
OVERVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
8
perspective, please be assured that we
will continue to do all we can to ensure
investors have access to the appropriate
information, whatever the requirements
of any prevailing regulation may be.
Outlook
Brunner’s new financial year has already
begun with a mix of optimism and
turmoil. Markets have been anything
but calm or predictable and, in the world
at large, we have seen the momentous
toppling of the Assad regime in Syria,
continuation of the conflict in Gaza up to
a brokered ceasefire in January, a South
Korean martial law crisis and the shock
resignation of Justin Trudeau in Canada.
Extreme weather events continued
around the world including major storms
at home in the UK and the recent wildfires
devastating L.A.
Many western nations are becoming
uneasy at the deepening military and
trade links between Russia, China, Iran
and North Korea (dubbed the ‘Axis of
Upheaval’ amongst a collection of similar
monikers). Whether this (as yet informal)
alliance will exacerbate any of the current
world conflicts or stand-offs remains to
be seen, but what is certain is that it has
refocused most nations on defence and
assured spending in that area is both
bolstered, but also more accepted by a
public at large.
Trump’s second term has already seen
both mixed signals and reactions. We will
have to wait to see how much will change
under his premiership. In investment
terms we will also have to see whether
the anticipative moves already made
by markets will prove to be correct, or
whether more volatility will ensue. The
latter could be highly likely given the news
flow sensitivity of markets, and what we
have seen before of the Trump ‘playbook’.
Although we have come a long way in
the taming of inflation across the globe
and central banks have generally been
able to start moderating interest rates, we
must acknowledge that this is not a ‘done
deal’ yet. Certainly, markets remain jittery
over any contra-indications.
All of these factors can pose risks on the
global stage – to society as well as to
economies and financial systems. We
remain stoic that the key benefit we
offer our shareholders is maintaining a
strategy focused solely on constructing
a well-diversified portfolio of companies
which overall should provide steady
performance under the myriad of
global ‘conditions’ – the reason behind
our ‘All-Weather’ tagline. Amidst all the
‘macro’ signals we remain a ‘bottom-up’
trust, seeking diverse opportunities from
individual companies – cognisant of the
effect that external factors could have on
that portfolio of companies, but not trying
to predict outcomes or have investment
decisions guided in a wholesale fashion
by those factors.
To end on a high note in what has been
a positive year for the recognition of the
trust by investors, the world remains at a
high cadence in terms of advancement. AI
springs immediately to mind here, but the
world in general is seeing technological
advancement across so many fields. As
prudent investors we have to recognise
the risks that carries (particularly market
over-exuberance), however there can be
no doubt that opportunities to invest in
great companies continue to abound.
Communication
The board and portfolio managers
believe that as the trust is owned by its
shareholders, they must do all they can
to honestly and clearly describe what
the trust is trying to offer and accurately
critique whether this is being delivered.
To this end enormous effort goes into the
preparation of all our literature and this
report and accounts.
So, we are very happy to report that in
2024 we received a ‘Highly Commended’
award for last year’s Annual Report in
the AIC’s Shareholder Communications
Awards. The judges noted that they
felt that the 2023 report was a ‘delight
to read’ – we hope shareholders and
other readers feel the same about this
year’s report.
Annual General Meeting
At our 2024 Annual General Meeting
(AGM) in March, it was a pleasure to once
again host an event well attended by
shareholders, with an interesting range
of questions and discussion. We look
forward to welcoming shareholders once
again this year to the AGM which is to be
held at Trinity House, Trinity Square, Tower
Hill, London, EC3N 4DH, at 12.00 noon
on Wednesday 2 April 2025. Attending
shareholders will receive a presentation
from the portfolio managers before the
formal business takes place. We would
be delighted to meet with all those
shareholders who are able to attend.
Shareholders can send any questions
to be answered at the AGM by the
board and portfolio managers care of
the company secretary at investment-
trusts@allianzgi.com or in writing to
the registered office (further details are
available on page 106) and we will
publish questions and answers on the
website after the meeting. We encourage
all shareholders to exercise their votes in
advance of the meeting by completing
and returning the form of proxy.
Carolan Dobson
Chair
12 February 2025
We are very happy to report that in 2024 we received
a ‘Highly Commended’ award for last year’s Annual
Report in the Association of Investment Companies’
Shareholder Communications Awards.
9
Performance – review of the year
Revenue
Year ended 30 November 2024 2023 % change
Income available for ordinary dividend £11,685,745 £11,251,047 +3.9
Earnings per ordinary share 27.4p 26.4p +3.8
Dividends per ordinary share 23.75p 22.7p +4.6
Consumer price index 135.1 131.7 +2.6
Assets
As at 30 November
2024 2023
Capital return
% change
Total return
1
% change
Net Asset Value per ordinary share with debt at fair value 1,459.6p 1,258.6p +16.0 +17.9
Net Asset Value per ordinary share with debt at par 1,438.8p 1,237.2p +16.3 +18.2
Share price 1,460.0p 1,065.0p +37.1 +39.3
Total net assets with debt at fair value
2
£627,111,895 £537,307,615 +16.7 -
Total net assets with debt at par £618,182,360 £528,209,759 +17.0 -
Ongoing charges
3
0.63% 0.64% - -
Net Asset Value with debt at fair value
4
relative to benchmark
5
Capital return Total return
1
Change in Net Asset Value 16.0% 17.9%
Change in benchmark 20.5% 23.6%
Percentage point performance against benchmark -4.5 -5.7
A Glossary of Alternative Performance Measures (APMs) can be found on page 111.
1
Total return is based on the capital Net Asset Value, including dividends reinvested. (APM).
2
Total net assets with debt at fair value. (APM).
3
The ongoing charges percentage is calculated in accordance with the explanation given on page 111. (APM).
4
The board prefers to measure performance using Net Asset Value with debt at fair value in line with industry practice, as demonstrated in the Chair’s statement
on page 5. (APM).
5
For the financial year under review the benchmark was 70% FTSE World Ex UK Index and 30% FTSE All-Share Index.
OVERVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
10
Historical record
Net Asset Value total return with debt at fair value and debt at par
Brunner debt at par
Brunner debt at fair value
Benchmark
Re-based to 100. Source: AllianzGI/Thomson Reuters DataStream. Benchmark: 70% FTSE World Ex UK Index and 30% FTSE All-Share Index.
Alternative Performance Measure (APM). See Glossary on page 111.
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Revenue
Total income (£000s)
8,735 9,996 11,000 10,968 11,505 9,195 11,487 12,623 14,426
15,233
Earnings per share
14.09p 16.40p 18.40p 19.67p 21.66p 15.96p 20.35p 22.66p 26.35p
27.37p
Dividend per share
15.30p 15.80p 16.50p 18.15p 19.98p 20.06p 20.15p 21.50p 22.70p
23.75p
Capital
Total net assets (£ms)
1
273.6 318.3 368.0 360.3 403.8 422.1 502.4 497.1 528.2 618.2
Total net assets (£ms)
2
262.5 307.7 359.2 361.1 400.2 416.5 497.5 503.2 537.3 627.1
Net Asset Value per ordinary share
1
636.2p 742.8p 862.0p 843.9p 945.8p 988.7p 1,176.9p 1,164.4p 1,237.2p
1,438.8p
Net Asset Value per ordinary share
2
610.3p 718.0p 841.4p 845.8p 937.4p 975.5p 1,165.4p 1,178.7p 1,258.6p
1,459.6p
Share price
540.5p 591.8p 785.0p 745.0p 862.0p 842.0p 1,050.0p 1,020.0p 1,065.0p
1,460.0p
Year end discount %
2
11 18 7 12 8 14 10 14 15
0
1
Debt at par.
2
Debt at fair value.
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Net Asset Value Return %
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
11
Strategic
Report
12 Introduction
13 Section 172 Report
16 Key Performance Indicators
18 Risk report
23 Environmental, Social
and Governance (ESG) Issues
Connecticut, USA.
Electronic and fiber optic
components and systems
manufacturer Amphenol,
headquartered in the state,
was a notable contributor
to performance.
11
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
12
company’s shares are attractive to
new investors and investor groups,
particularly individuals with smaller
portfolios held either directly or in self-
invested pension plans for whom we can
provide a balanced solution for equity
investment. It is also our objective to
provide good value for shareholders
and ensure that the costs of running
the company are reasonable and
competitive. Information on Revenue
and Invested Funds in the year is
summarised on page 61.
Brunner has an independent board
of non-executive directors and no
employees or premises of its own.
Like other investment companies, it
outsources investment management,
accounting, company secretarial and
other administration services to an
investment management company –
Allianz Global Investors UK Ltd – and to
other parties, including HSBC Bank plc
as depositary and custodian, and MUFG,
formerly Link Group as registrar. This
enables Brunner to provide shareholders
with a competitive, cost-effective way to
gain wide investment exposure through
a single investment vehicle.
The company has a main market
listing on the London Stock Exchange.
In addition to annual and half-yearly
financial reports, the company
announces Net Asset Values per share
daily and provides further information
monthly to the market, in order for
investors and market professionals to
compare its performance with its peer
group. The investment manager also
issues a monthly update on investment
performance which is posted on the
company’s website and is available
by email.
Manager’s investment style
The essence of the investment style
which we ask the investment manager
to follow is to select the best stocks in
a ‘bottom up’ approach, before any
sector or country consideration. The
portfolio is concentrated into 55 stocks
at 30 November 2024 (60 stocks in
2023). Within that concentration modest
gearing – employing the company’s
borrowings to invest – is within guidelines
set by the board.
Introduction
Purpose
Our purpose is to provide the company’s
shareholders with growth in capital
value and dividends over the long term
through investing in a portfolio of global
and UK equities. The company aims to
achieve a return higher than that of our
benchmark, after costs, and to achieve
steady dividend growth in real terms.
Strategy review
We hold an annual strategy meeting
outside the normal timetable of board
meetings. At the most recent meeting the
topics covered included:
– Investment strategy and how AI can
be used
– Market conditions and sources
of return
– Marketing strategy and the focus
for 2025.
Business model
The Brunner Investment Trust PLC carries
on business as an investment company
and follows the investment policy
described below.
By pursuing our investment objective
we aim to appeal to a broad range
of investors and to ensure that the
Investment Policy
Investment objective
The Brunner Investment Trust PLC aims
to provide growth in capital value and
dividends for investors over the long
term through investing in a portfolio of
global and UK equities.
The benchmark against which
performance is measured is 70% FTSE
World Ex UK Index and 30% FTSE
All-Share Index.
Risk diversification
The company aims to achieve a spread
of investments across geographies and
sectors. The maximum holding in any
single stock is limited to 10% of gross
assets at the time of investment and
the portfolio will consist of at least 50
stocks. The company will not invest
more than 15% of its gross assets in
other UK listed investment companies.
Gearing
The company seeks to enhance
returns over the long term through
appropriate gearing. The board
monitors the gearing, which is
employed within the guidelines
set from time to time by the board.
Gearing in any case will not exceed
20% of net assets at the time
of borrowing.
In the investment policy above, gross assets means the company’s assets before deduction of all debt and other obligations,
net assets means the company’s assets after deduction of all debt and other obligations based on the fair value of the long-
term debt and preference shares.
13
Section 172 report
Engagement with key stakeholders
Engagement with the company’s stakeholders enables the company to fulfil its strategies and to promote the success of the
company for the benefit of the shareholders as a whole. In the year we were pleased to hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM)
as an in-person event which was well attended and we hope to see and meet with more shareholders in 2025. Set out below are
some examples of the ways in which Brunner has interacted with key stakeholders to demonstrate how the board and its agents
have considered stakeholders in pursuit of the success of the company and the promotion of that success for the long-term:
Stakeholders and how they are
taken into account Activity in the year Outcome
Shareholders are identified as the
primary stakeholders as the investors
in the company. The company’s
objective is to provide growth in
capital value and dividends for
investors over the long term and
the company’s strategy is to provide
shareholders with the desired returns
by diversifying to take into account
risk appetite.
Participation in investor conferences
and webinars, together with videos
and podcasts on the website informs
shareholders of the investment
management activity and
performance of the company.
The further use of new presentation
styles to engage investors such as
audio (podcasts), video and the Turtl
platform to distribute information
to shareholders and the wider
investment community, including in
shorter, more digestible formats.
Jim Sharp’s relationship to the
Brunner family shareholders provides
further insight for the board into the
views of investors to be used for the
advantage of all.
The investment team with co-leads
Julian Bishop and Christian Schneider
continues to engage constructively
with shareholders, journalists
and industry commentators. The
investment team has multiple skill
sets (including Income, Growth,
Global and UK) and has an increasing
recognition in the investment
trust arena.
Both the company’s market rating
(reflected in the discount and
premium) and the liquidity of the
company’s shares have continued
to improve steadily over the year
as shown in the KPI reporting on
page 17.
The discount, one of the company’s
KPIs, notably fell in 2024 and for
a period the shares traded at a
premium. The movement of the
discount over the year is shown on
page 17.
Since the year end the company’s
shares have traded at a low discount.
The company’s shareholders are its primary stakeholders. Other stakeholders include service
providers and the companies in which it invests. The board’s strategy is facilitated by the
manager reporting interaction on its behalf with a wide range of stakeholders through
meetings, seminars, presentations and publications and through contacts made through our
suppliers and intermediaries.
STRATEGIC REPORT
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
14
Stakeholders and how they are
taken into account Activity in the year Outcome
Readers of communications including
our shareholders and other investors,
looking for information about the
company on the website and in online
media coverage.
The user experience on the website
continued to be developed during the
year. The manager has worked with
other publications, such as Citywire,
to provide more information about
the trust online, keeping it fresh
with new video content, interviews
and podcasts.
Continual enhancements and
improvements to the website
including both helpful background
and educational material. We strive
to keep information as relevant and
current as possible.
Public Relations and media – the
company continues to work with
public relations advisers to ensure
information about the company,
its strategies and performance can
reach a wide audience to update
shareholders and potential investors
through press articles and online
media coverage.
There is an Integrated PR
programme. Investment managers
Julian Bishop, Christian Schneider
and James Ashworth provide
interviews, presentations and record
podcasts to inform and educate.
We work with a third party, Lansons
Communications, and the campaign
work is aligned with AllianzGI’s
marketing activity.
PR activity (generating exposure
in consumer finance titles and the
national press) is crucial in providing
information for self-directed investors
through the platform market. Reports
to the board show there is a direct
correlation between press articles
appearing and spikes of interest and
purchases of the company’s shares.
Following feedback that
people want bite-sized, shorter
presentations, the majority of
content for engagement is in short
form, with longer form content
accessible for those that want to
delve deeper.
Service providers – the company’s
stakeholders need to be assured of
good governance and controls in
the company.
As well as the management company,
the board has appointed a depositary,
a custodian and a registrar to provide
specialist services.
In addition to regular contact and
assurance testing that sound and
effective controls are in place from
all of these service providers, there
is a rolling programme of due
diligence visits to suppliers of third
party services by the AllianzGI’s
investment trust team to ensure
that the company is getting good
quality services with robust and fit for
purpose internal controls.
AllianzGI’s investment trust team and
supporting operations also receive
detailed due diligence assessments
by direct suppliers, for example,
looking at NAVs and the pricing
process and on general controls, by
HSBC, the company’s depositary and
custodian. A visit took place in 2024,
with HSBC’s annual assessment of the
AllianzGI UK Ltd entity as the AIFM,
and no issues were raised.
Assurances from direct service
providers on their internal controls
are given formally to the company
twice yearly but day-to-day contact
with the investment trust team
ensures that issues are quickly
identified and acted upon and that
remedial action can take place.
15
Stakeholders and how they are
taken into account Activity in the year Outcome
Potential new investors are an
important stakeholder group and
getting key information to the
investment market so that investors
both current and prospective can
make informed investment choices is a
significant activity.
Research platforms and distribution
partnerships are employed to reach a
wider audience of investors.
The marketing team also works on
events and campaigns with other
research and marketing companies,
including Edison and Kepler.
Resources were allocated by the
board during the year for publishing
research and event participation.
‘Direct to consumer’, for self-directed
investment, is primarily driven by
platforms. Platforms essentially give
convenient access to the majority of
the investment universe for investors.
The board has encouraged activity
to increase recognition by those
operating the platforms through
influencers (including through PR,
video recordings with Asset TV and
the company’s digital marketing
strategy). ‘Influencing’ activity involves
sponsored content, advertising and
client events, targeting the platforms
themselves alongside the key
research platforms.
In the past two years the board has
consistently described the trust as an
‘all-weather’ global equity portfolio,
setting out clearly what Brunner
offers its investors.
Outcome: Analysis is in the form of
detailed investor group feedback
and in considering the metrics of key
activity over the year: in particular
the board can see the effectiveness
of communicating with investors by
monitoring daily traffic on the website
and investment through ‘spikes’
of investment on platforms after
publications and events throughout
the year. Interest in Brunner is also
tracked through search engine
optimisation (SEO).
The board continues to believe that
the best approach for Brunner is to
follow a steady path and to be an
‘all-weather’ global equity portfolio
for investors, aiming for long-term
stability of capital return and
provision of a steadily rising dividend
to shareholders.
STRATEGIC REPORT
Source: AllianzGI/Thomson Reuters DataStream. Benchmark: 70% FTSE World
Ex UK Index and 30% FTSE All-Share Index. Alternative Performance Measure
(APM). See Glossary on page 111.
Debt at
fair value
Debt
at par
Benchmark Percentage point
relative return
Percentage point
relative return
2024 +17.9% +18.2% +23.6% -5.7 -5.4
2023 +8.7% +8.2% +5.5% +3.2 +2.7
2022 +3.0% +0.8% +1.4% +1.6 -0.6
Performance against the benchmark index
Dividends
Net Asset Value total return with debt at fair value and debt at par
Includes the proposed final dividend.
This is the most important KPI by which
performance is judged. The principal
objective is to achieve a return higher
than that of the benchmark index over
the long term, after absorbing costs.
For this indicator, we measure the
performance against the benchmark
using NAV with debt at fair value, in line
with industry practice. We have also
disclosed here the performance against
the benchmark using NAV with debt
at par value for information purposes.
Capital returns are shown on page
9 and in the Chair’s Statement.
The board aims to pay an increased
dividend each year, taking into account
inflation and the ability to achieve this
subject to general earnings growth
and dividends received in the portfolio.
Dividends paid in the past ten years are
set out in the Historical Record table on
page 10, and in the graphic on page
4, which show that dividends have
risen in every year since 1972 and have
increased by 4.6% this year.
%
2023
20232022 2024
2024
23.75p
22.7p
Annual dividend
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Key Performance Indicators
The board uses the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor and evaluate
the performance of the company in executing its strategy.
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
16
Share ownership
Percentage of issued capital held by wealth managers and investment platforms
The marketing programme targets
professional and retail investors
and aims to create ongoing and
sustained demand for Brunner shares.
A successful marketing strategy
stands to benefit all of the company’s
shareholders by increasing liquidity.
We look at the growth of share
holdings of clients of wealth managers
and of investment platforms to see
the impact of retail demand for the
company’s shares.
1
including Brunner family members
2
including beneficial owners not known
Ongoing charges
Ongoing charges are operating
expenses incurred in the running
of the company, whether charged
to revenue or capital but excluding
financing costs. The ongoing charge
is calculated in accordance with the
AIC’s recommended methodology
(See Glossary on page 111). This
figure does not include costs incurred
from trading activities, as these are
capitalised within the investment
valuation (Note 8 on page 93) which
amount to a further 0.05% of net assets
(2023: 0.05%). Ongoing charges are
published by the AIC.
2023 2024
0.63%
Discount
The company’s shares currently trade
at a discount to the Net Asset Value
per share and during the year had
traded at a premium from time to time,
averaging at a discount of 4.7%. The
share price depends on a number of
factors, including sentiment towards the
company and towards investments in
equities in general. The board monitors
the discount with the aim in normal
markets of being not out of step with
comparable trusts in the sector.
The board gives authority in certain
circumstances to buy back shares and
either cancel the shares or hold them
in treasury, which would be likely to
result in a temporary narrowing of the
discount. In other circumstances, if the
shares trade at a premium the board
instructs the issuance of new shares to
manage the premium and help provide
liquidity to the market.
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
%
Nov 2021
Nov 2022 Nov 2023 Nov 2024
0.64%
2023 2024
Financial
institutions
3.7%
Others
2
1.7%
Direct
holdings
1
27.7%
Investment
platforms
Wealth
managers
21.9%
9.8%
2.0%
29.1%
36.4%
22.8%
45.0%
STRATEGIC REPORT
17
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
18
As reported to shareholders in the half-yearly report in 2024, the economic backdrop
continues to stress test the business models of all companies.
The board has maintained its close contact with the manager and other third party service providers to understand their responses
to the macroeconomic and geopolitical situation and in particular actions taken to mitigate the effects of these risks on the
company and its business. The likelihood of both ‘Market volatility’ and the ‘Emerging’ risks from the impact of AI on our portfolio
and continued geopolitical and macroeconomic change remain ‘almost certain’ this year as they were last year, as shown in the
heat map below.
Risk management policy
The board operates a risk management policy to ensure that the level of risk taken in pursuit of the board’s objectives and in
implementing its strategy are understood. The principal risks identified by the board are set out in the tables on pages 19 to
21, together with the actions taken to mitigate these risks. The process by which the directors monitor risk is described in the
Audit Committee Report on page 73, and includes a review of a more detailed version of these tables, in the form of a risk
matrix, at least twice yearly.
Risk appetite
The directors assess the likelihood of occurrence and perceived impact of each risk after mitigating actions and consider the
extent to which the resulting residual risk is acceptable, which is defined as the board’s risk appetite. The results of this exercise are
shown in the heat map below:
Risk report
IMPACT
LIKELIHOOD
low moderate high very high
rare unlikely moderate likely almost certain
2.3
Investment
performance
3.3
Accounting /
legal/regulatory
3.4
Corporate
governance
3.7
Reputational
2.1
Investment
strategy
3.1
Organisational
set-up / process
2.2
Shareholder
relations
3.2
Outsourcing /
third party
1.3
Counterparty
2.6
Market
demand
3.6
Financial
Crime/Fraud,
Cyber and AI
3.5
Key persons
2.4
Financial
1.2
Market
liquidity and
pricing
1.4
Currency
2.5
Liquidity and
gearing
Risk is acceptable, no
additional measures needed
Risk is of concern but
sufficient measures are
defined and have been or are
being implemented
Risk is of concern, sufficient
mitigation measures
not possible
The controls and mitigation of
portfolio and business risk will
continue to operate, however,
there remains a risk that the
level of volatility and impact of
emerging risks may be such that
the level of portfolio earnings
cannot be mitigated by factors
within the board’s control.
1.1
Market
volatility
4.1
Emerging –
geopolitical
uncertainty
4.2
Emerging –
impact of AI
on the portfolio
19
Investment and portfolio Risks
Principal risks identified Controls and mitigation
1.1 Market volatility
Significant market movements may adversely
impact the investments held by the company
increasing the risk of loss or challenges to the
investment strategy, reduction of dividends
across the market affecting the portfolio yield
and the ability to pay in line with dividend policy.
Macroeconomic factors could also cause
significant market falls, unexpected volatility,
threat to income or increase in gearing.
The board meets with the portfolio managers and considers asset
allocation, stock selection and levels of gearing on a regular
basis and has set investment restrictions and guidelines that are
monitored and reported on by AllianzGI. The board monitors yields
and can modify investment parameters and consider a change to
dividend policy.
Macroeconomic factors and their causes may mean mitigation may
not be possible for significant market movements caused by factors
outside the board’s control.
1.2 Market liquidity and pricing
Failure of investments.
The board receives reports from the manager on the stress testing of
the portfolio at least twice each year and contact is made with the
Chair and board if necessary between board meetings.
1.3 Counterparty risk
Non-delivery of stock by a counterparty.
The manager operates on a delivery versus payment system,
reducing the risk of counterparty default.
1.4 Currency
Exposure to significant exchange rate
volatility could affect the performance of the
investment portfolio.
Currency movements are monitored closely and are reported to
the board.
Business and strategic risks
Principal risks identified Controls and mitigation
2.1 Investment strategy
An inappropriate investment strategy e.g., asset
allocation or the level of gearing may lead
to underperformance against the company’s
benchmark index and peer group companies,
resulting in the company’s shares trading on a
wider discount.
The board manages these risks by diversification of investments
through its investment restrictions and guidelines which are
monitored and on which the board receives reports at every meeting.
The board monitors the implementation and results of the investment
process with the investment managers, who attend all board
meetings, and reviews data which shows risk factors and how they
affect the portfolio.
The manager employs the company’s gearing tactically within a
strategic range set by the board. The board also meets annually
specifically to discuss strategy, including investment strategy.
2.2 Shareholder relations
The investment objectives, or views on decisions
such as gearing, discount management, dividend
policy, of existing shareholders may not coincide
with those of the board leading investors to sell
their shares.
Reports on shareholder sentiment are received from the manager
and brokers and reviewed by the board. Shareholders are actively
encouraged to make their views known.
2.3 Investment performance
Persistent poor performance against the
benchmark or other trusts in our peer group
leads to decline in attractiveness of the company
to investors.
The investment manager attends all board meetings to discuss
performance with the directors. The board manages these risks by
giving investment guidelines which are monitored at each meeting.
The board reviews the investment performance of the company
against the benchmark and peer group.
STRATEGIC REPORT
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
20
2.4 Financial
Range of risks including incorrect calculation of
NAV, inaccurate revenue forecasts, incorrectly
calculated management fees, issues with title to
investment holdings.
A rolling income forecast (including special dividends), balance sheet
and expenses are reviewed at every board meeting. Reporting from
the custodian covering internal controls in place over custody of
investments and over appointment and monitoring of sub-custodians
is produced and reviewed at least annually. The board’s investment
restrictions are input in trading systems to impose a pre-trade check.
2.5 Liquidity and gearing
Insufficient income generated by the portfolio
and due to stock market falls, gearing increases
to levels unacceptable to shareholders and the
market which in extreme circumstances results in a
breach of loan covenants.
The board meets with the portfolio managers and considers asset
allocation, stock selection and levels of gearing on a regular basis.
Investment restrictions and guidelines are monitored and reported
on by AllianzGI. Regular compliance information is prepared on
covenant requirements.
2.6 Market demand
The level of discount of the share price to the
NAV moves to unacceptable levels, threatening
confidence in the company’s shares.
The board regularly reviews the level of premium and discount and
existing shares can be bought back by the company when the board
considers this expedient.
Operational risks
Principal risks identified Controls and mitigation
3.1 Organisation set up and process
Failure in the operational set up of the company,
through people, processes, systems or external
events could result in financial loss to the company
or its inability to operate.
The manager and the other key service providers report on business
continuity plans and the resilience of their response to extreme
situations. Third party internal controls reports are also received from
these service providers.
3.2 Outsourcing and third party
Risk of inadequate procedures for the
identification, evaluation and management of
risks at outsourced providers including AllianzGI
and its outsourced administration provider, State
Street Bank & Trust Company, HSBC Bank plc
(Depositary and Custodian) and MUFG Corporate
Markets, formerly Link Group, (Registrar).
AllianzGI carries out regular monitoring of outsourced administration
functions, which includes compliance visits and risk reviews where
necessary. Results of these reviews are monitored by the board.
Additional assurances on business resilience and cyber security are
obtained by the board. Agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are in place and the board
receives reports against these.
3.3 Regulatory
Failure to be aware of or comply with legal,
accounting and regulatory requirements which
could result in censure, financial penalty or loss of
investment company status.
The board maintains close relations with its advisers and makes
preparations for mitigation of these risks as and when they are known
or can be anticipated.
3.4 Corporate governance
Weak adherence to best practice in corporate
governance can result in shareholder discontent
and potential reputational damage to
the company.
The board is highly experienced and knowledgeable about
corporate governance best practice and includes directors who are
board members of other UK plcs and other investment companies.
The board takes regular advice on best practice.
3.5 Key person
Departure of the portfolio manager, certain
professional individuals, and/or board members,
may impact the management of the portfolio,
the achievement of the company’s investment
objective and/or disruption to its operations.
Manager and board succession plans are in place. Cover is available
for core members of the relevant teams of the manager, and work
can be carried out by other team members should the need arise.
21
3.6 Financial crime, fraud, cyber security and AI
That the company and the manager’s firm, its
employees, or clients are subject to financial crime
or breach elements of the Bribery Act. Risk of
increased cyber attacks. Risk from traditional and
generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in respect
of malicious AI, its rapid growth and the lack
of regulation.
AllianzGI has anti-fraud, anti-bribery policies and robust procedures
in place. The board is alert to the risks of financial crime and threat of
cyber attacks and reviews how third party service providers handle
these threats. These reports confirm that all systems are secure and
are updated in response to any new threats as they arise.
The board asks for and receives assurance from key suppliers on
information security and AI developments and threats.
3.7 Reputational
Association with poor governance in portfolio
companies and operational issues in service
providers which can affect the reputation of
the company.
The portfolio management team is in constant interaction with
AllianzGI’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and
Stewardship function and actively engages with investee companies
on ESG issues and makes investments incorporating ESG factors
in the decision process. Service providers are monitored and the
manager provides oversight.
Emerging risks
Principal risks identified Controls and mitigation
4.1 Emerging – geopolitical uncertainty
Geopolitical uncertainties including changing
membership of international alliances and
agencies, the conflict in Israel-Gaza and the
ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, any of
which could cause significant market falls, threat
to income or increase in gearing.
The board carries out horizon scanning by keeping informed through
its manager and advisers on the political, economic and legal
landscape, and reviews updates received on regulatory changes that
affect the company.
4.2 Emerging – impact of AI on the
investment portfolio
The rapidly changing landscape for the tech sector
and impact of disruptive use of AI on other sectors
which could cause significant shifts in valuations of
companies in the portfolio.
The board carries out horizon scanning by keeping informed through
its manager and advisers on the political, economic and legal
landscape, and reviews updates received on regulatory changes that
affect the company.
The manager reports on its consideration of AI developments and
threats in its oversight of investments.
STRATEGIC REPORT
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
22
Going Concern
The directors have considered the company’s investment
objective and capital structure both in general terms and in the
context of the current macroeconomic background. Having
noted that the portfolio, which is constructed by the portfolio
manager on a bottom up basis, consists mainly of securities
which are readily realisable, the directors have also continued to
consider the risks and consequences of such external factors on
the operational aspects of the company and have concluded
that the company has the ability to continue in operation and
meet its objectives in the foreseeable future. For this reason the
directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing
the financial statements.
The company held some short term debt as a current liability
as at 30 November 2024, in the form of a Revolving Credit
Facility (RCF), which matures within one year. The board is
currently evaluating whether to seek a renewal, to refinance
the RCF, or to repay the facility at the maturity date in June
2025. While the company is in a net current liability position as
at 30 November 2024, if an obligation arose investments could
be sold to raise cash.
Viability Statement
Brunner is an investment company and has operated as an
investment vehicle since 1927 with the aim of offering a return
to investors over the long term. The directors have formally
assessed the prospects of the company for a period of longer
than a year. The directors believe that five years is the suitable
outlook period for this review as there is a realistic prospect
that the company will continue to be viable whilst seeking
to achieve its aim to provide growth in capital value and
dividends over the long term. This reflects the longevity of the
company and the expectation that investors will want to hold
on to their shares for some time. The board also notes that as a
high conviction investor, the portfolio manager has a five year
view on stocks in the portfolio.
The board has assessed the long-term viability of the company
against the principal risks faced by the company, outlined in
the reporting under Risk Management Policy on page 18.
Many of these matters are subject to ongoing review and the
final assessment, to enable this statement to be made, has
been formally reviewed by the board.
The factors considered at each board meeting are:
– The company’s investment strategy and the long-term
performance of the company, together with the board’s view
that it can continue to provide attractive returns to investors;
– As an investment company Brunner is able to put aside
revenue reserves in years of good income to cover a smooth
payment of growing dividends in years when there are
challenges to portfolio revenues;
– The financial position of the company, including the impact
of foreseeable market movements on future earnings and
cash flows. The board monitors the financial position in detail
at each board meeting and at least twice each year it stress-
tests the portfolio against significant market falls;
– In the current environment the board is reviewing earnings
prospects, gearing and debt covenants on a continuous
basis with the managers; and
– The liquidity of the portfolio, and the company’s ability to
pay dividends and to meet the budgeted expenses, including
interest payments, of running the company.
Based on the results of this assessment, the directors have
a reasonable expectation that the company will be able to
continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due
over the five year period of their review.
The future
As we show in our page on the history of the trust on the
inside cover of this document, the longevity of the trust and its
importance to our investors continues to be a focus. The future
attractiveness of Brunner as an investment proposition with
relevance to a wide variety of investors is something we debate
and evaluate continuously. We have to consider the investment
environment and wider economic considerations, such as
increasing inflationary pressures, and take soundings on the
prospects for our markets, the returns on assets, economic
growth and numerous other factors. Taking all this into account
the board continues to believe that there is a place for Brunner
in the range of options available to the investor and that
the company remains viable for the five year period here
under review.
The strategy for the future
The development of the company is dependent on the success
of the company’s investment strategy against the economic
environment and market developments. I give my view in the
Chair’s Statement on page 5 and the portfolio managers
discuss their view of the outlook for the company’s portfolio in
their review starting on page 26.
On behalf of the board
Carolan Dobson
Chair
12 February 2025
Environmental, Social and Governance research
and stewardship
Active stewardship is an integral component of our investment
manager’s investment approach. This can help to unlock
potential in companies, as well as protect companies from
downside risks.
AllianzGI’s approach to ESG analysis
Brunner’s portfolio managers follow AllianzGI’s proprietary
ESG methodology which is designed to enhance risk
management and engagement by adding another dimension
to existing investment processes across all asset classes.
The main objective of integrating ESG analysis is to develop
an assessment of the financially material ESG risks and
opportunities within a broader investment case. AllianzGI’s
approach also fosters active engagement with company
management. Active proxy voting is an important part of
the ESG process. Our manager has a firm-wide exclusion of
controversial weapons and companies relying to some extent
on coal extraction. Sustainability research and stewardship
analysts may further support the ESG process by providing a
framework of company, sector and thematic research.
The board considers that it is in shareholders’ interests to be aware of and consider
environmental, social and governance factors when selecting and retaining investments.
Details of the company’s policy on ESG are set below.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Issues
How it works in practice
AllianzGI employs 45 sustainability professionals. The process
of integrating ESG analysis involves AllianzGI’s investment
teams reviewing both ESG scores and financially material
qualitative information for each holding or company of
interest. The investment teams then make an assessment of the
ESG risk or opportunity that supports the broader investment
case. AllianzGI’s investment professionals have access to both
quantitative tools and qualitative ESG research.
AllianzGI’s investment professionals generate in-depth research
of companies they own or believe to be of interest and often
closely follow these issuers over long periods of time. Therefore,
they can engage actively with the companies that need it most.
AllianzGI’s Sustainability Research & Stewardship analysts
further support the process by providing company, sector and/
or thematic research. All ESG research and engagement notes
are documented on AllianzGI’s internal Global Collaboration
Platform. This creates a high degree of transparency and
provides portfolio managers with an easy way to monitor ESG
risk in their portfolios.
Proxy voting 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2024
In the year there were 65 shareholder meetings for companies
in the portfolio and the manager voted on the company’s
behalf at 63 of these. The company voted on 97% of all
resolutions. Source: AllianzGI.
Company meeting voting record
Number of meetings voted
with management: 19
Number of meetings with
at least one vote Against,
Withhold or Abstain: 45
Vote distribution
Number of votes for: 81%
Number of votes against: 12%
Number of votes abstain: 1%
Number of votes withhold: <1%
Not voted: 5%
Active proxy voting engagement for clients is seen as a
core element of fiduciary responsibilities and the manager
provides total voting coverage. This active, global approach
to the exercise of voting rights is aimed at improving
governance standards.
23
STRATEGIC REPORT
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
24
ESG reporting
The board receives information on ESG scores for the portfolio
and this is published in the company’s monthly factsheets. This
is also included on page 44.
A summary of the many engagements with portfolio
companies on E,S and G matters is set out on page 43.
Brunner’s ESG policy and web links
A summary of the board’s policy on ESG can be found with the
company’s details on the Association of Investment Companies’
website, where there is also more information on ESG for
investors:
https://www.theaic.co.uk/esg-and-investment-companies
Sustainability
The portfolio managers talk about the importance of
sustainability in the assessment of the quality of portfolio
companies in their Investment Philosophy explanation on
page 41.
Company engagement
The investment manager conducts regular meetings with
companies which:
– enriches investment analysis and decision making;
– helps assess company leadership and culture and build trust;
– facilitates active involvement from portfolio managers and
sector analysts in company engagements;
– focuses on material issues in a case-by-case approach; and
– provides an organic link to Proxy Voting decisions.
Investment
research
Proxy
voting
Company
engagement
Engagement success is part of delivering
investment performance
More information can be found at:
https://uk.allianzgi.com/en-gb/our-firm/sustainable-investing
25
Madrid, Spain is home to
Aena, the owner and operator
of almost every airport in
the country.
Investment
Manager’s
Review
26 Portfolio Managers’ report
41 Investment philosophy
and stock selection process
43 Company engagement activities
44 Environmental, Social
and Governance performance
45 Top twenty holdings
50 Portfolio analysis
52 Listed equity holdings
55 Distribution of invested funds
25
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
26
Portfolio Managers’ report
The US vs Rest of World (RoW)
American exceptionalism was the theme
of this financial year. Over the 12 months
to the end of November 2024 the US
S&P 500 Index returned 34% in dollars,
compared to just 10% for the MSCI
Europe; the largest outperformance
in at least a quarter of a century.
Remarkably, almost one third of the US
outperformance was registered in the
few weeks following the election, which
President Trump won by a surprisingly
convincing margin. Famed pollster Nate
Silver’s predictions of an outcome ‘closer
than a coin toss’ proved quaint, and
allayed fears of a contested election and
civil unrest. There was no insurrection at
the Capitol this time.
Given Trump’s economically stimulative
first term, the US stock market and the
dollar roared ahead. Trump’s America
First platform and proposals for large,
sweeping tariffs concurrently unnerved
markets elsewhere, further increasing
the large divergence in performance
between the S&P and the rest of
the world.
The stellar performance of the US stock
market has been well documented. The
technology sector has been key to this
exceptionalism; America dominates
this lucrative space. Success has been
concentrated amongst a small number
of huge companies. Remarkably, just
eight, all American companies out of
more than three thousand accounted for
half the MSCI All Country World Index’s
total return in 2024.
After another strong gain in 2024,
the US now accounts for around two
thirds of most the global equity indices.
The S&P 500 itself has become a very
concentrated index. The top 5 stocks
alone – Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft,
Alphabet and Amazon – now account
for almost 30% of the S&P 500’s
value and almost 47% of the tech
heavy Nasdaq Composite. Ironically,
many trusts and funds offer greater
diversification than the index these days.
Indeed, it is noteworthy that the Nasdaq
tracker would easily fall foul of UCITS
regulations designed to protect investors
from insufficient diversification.
It can be instructive to examine the
components of equity market returns.
Over the long term, equity returns are
The stellar performance of the US stock market has
been well documented. The technology sector has
been key to this exceptionalism; America dominates
this lucrative space.
dominated by what we might call the
fundamental return; a combination
of cash returns such as dividends plus
growth in profits. In the short term,
the valuation multiple – how much
investors are willing to pay per unit of
profit, which is often measured by the
price-to-earnings (or P/E) multiple –
can vary sufficiently to determine the
performance of a stock. However, over
the longer term it is the fundamental
return that is likely to matter most to
financial outcomes. With apologies to
Hungarian investor André Kostalany,
a stock and its fundamentals are like
a man walking his dog. The man (the
fundamentals) walks in a straight line,
whilst the dog (the stock price) darts off,
chasing rabbits. Ultimately, they arrive at
the same place at the same time.
Looking at the US market in 2024 with
this analogy in mind is telling. As noted,
the S&P 500 returned 34% in dollars
over the past twelve months. However,
profit growth for the whole index was
just 8% over the same period and the
dividend yield was just 1%. Most of the
return therefore came from the valuation
multiple increasing: the dog running
off into the woods. Clearly this is not
something that can be relied upon to
Christian SchneiderJulian Bishop
27
reoccur, particularly when we consider
that the forward multiple on the S&P
500 is now at levels last seen during
the dotcom bubble at the end of the
last millennium.
We can extend this analysis over a
longer time frame. Over the ten years to
the end of 2024, the fundamental return
on US equities (the dividend plus the
earnings growth) has been about 9.2%
pa, but this return has been boosted
3.7% by valuations expanding – the
dog running ahead of its master – as
the trailing P/E multiple increased from
17x to 25x. Moreover, earnings were
boosted in 2018 by Trump’s first term
corporation tax cut and UK based
investors have enjoyed the benefit of
the dollar appreciating in value against
Sterling 2.5% per annum. In all, the
impressive return on US equities for UK
based investors has been meaningfully
improved by three factors – a tax cut, a
currency boost and a valuation re-rating
– that are likely to be one off in nature.
Over the same period, UK equities have
seen valuations fall. 10 years ago the
valuation gap between the UK and
US markets was fairly small. Today it
is yawningly wide. The outcome of this
means we begin 2025 with the S&P 500
sporting a forecast P/E multiple of 22x,
almost double that of the FTSE 100; the
widest spread in history we could find.
The dividend yield on the FTSE 100 is
now almost quadruple that of the S&P
500 once we take into consideration
American withholding taxes. Whilst
we believe it is virtually indisputable
the S&P 500 houses a better collection
of businesses than those listed in the
UK, these starting points meaningfully
handicap the outlook for the US market
vs the UK market going forward. Even if
earnings in the US continue to outgrow
those in the UK, as we would expect
them to do, the superior dividend in the
UK provides considerable compensation.
In the past ten years the fundamental
return in the UK (which is more skewed
to dividends that EPS growth) hasn’t
actually been that far behind the US;
7.9% vs 9.2%. The realised return has
been held back by the P/E multiple
declining and the lack of the currency
impact. Should the animal spirits in
the US fade or should the UK market
recover from its malaise, then it is entirely
possible that the UK (and Europe, where
the history and arguments are similar)
provides a superior investment return
to the US in the coming years. For that
reason, we continue to believe that
our unusual benchmark (70% global,
S&P 500 (USA): contributors to the 10 year total return
FTSE All-Share (UK): contributors to the 10 year total return
Source: AllianzGI, as at 31 December 2024.
Change in GBP
2.5%
2.0%
7.2%
3.7%
Dividends EPS Growth Change in P/E
20
15
10
5
0
%
Source: AllianzGI, as at 31 December 2024.
Change in GBP Dividends EPS Growth Change in P/E
10
8
6
4
2
0
%
0.0%
3.7%
4.2%
-1.7%
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
28
30% UK) provides a useful source
of diversification.
As highlighted, we say this despite our
belief that American companies are
generally of superior quality. This is a
provable point. Returns on Invested
Capital, or how much profit firms
generate per dollar of capital they have
invested, are in aggregate higher in
the US than they are for their European
counterparts. The history of earnings
growth in the US has also demonstrably
been far superior. Revenue forecasts
from investment bank analysts suggest
this will continue. But dividends,
and valuations, are also important
components of investment returns over
the long run. All our investment decisions
look to balance quality, growth and
value. Whilst America may score best on
the first two of these factors, it lags by a
growing margin on the third.
On American success
It is worth considering why America
trades at such a premium. Primarily
there is the record of extraordinary
performance by newly founded
businesses. Over the past 30 years, six
companies worldwide have reached
a $1 trillion valuation and all have
been American. Whilst fourteen US
companies founded in the past 30
years have reached $100bn in value,
no European companies have done the
same. Many of these new companies
rely primarily on intangible assets (such
as computer software and algorithms)
rather than tangible ones (such as
factories). These intangible assets are
highly scalable, enabling rapid growth
with modest incremental investment.
The combination of high returns on
invested capital and growth has resulted
in massive value creation and high
multiples to boot. The presence of these
has a halo effect over the entire market’s
collective memory. Equity participation
in the US has been, for most, a one-
way street. Higher valuations therefore
reflect more than just the compositional
impact of a large tech sector alone.
American banks trade at around twice
the valuation multiple of their European
counterparts. Retailer Walmart trades at
a P/E multiple of 35x vs 14x for Tesco, its
most obvious European counterpart.
The success of American technology
companies is a subject of much
discussion. Whilst California’s Silicon
Valley is the most famous cluster, two
of the magnificent 7 – Microsoft and
Amazon – are based further up the West
Coast in Seattle, a metropolitan area
with a population similar to Birmingham.
Over the past half century Silicon
Valley has built a unique ecosystem –
encompassing entrepreneurial expertise,
world-leading universities, a culture of
supporting and encouraging start-ups,
and a large, well-developed venture
capital and funding system. There is
a deep pool of highly skilled, highly
rewarded labour which is attracted
from all over the world under the H1-B
visa system.
Moreover, there is an extremely
shareholder friendly governance
framework. Cynics might say this is
a result of corporate capture of the
government. Remarkably, in the 2016
election the richest top 1% of the richest
top 1% (i.e., the top 0.01%) made 40%
of all political donations. It would be
extraordinarily naive to believe these
contributions were made with no quid
pro quo. The victory of Trump in 2024
completes the picture of a government
that is run in the interests of the rich and,
by extension, the shareholder. Whilst
in Europe the ESG movement means
businesses and investors continue
to expand their social remit to other
stakeholders, in the US the shareholder
reigns supreme.
Indeed, many businesses across the
pond are backtracking on their diversity,
equality and inclusions commitments
including, recently, Walmart, the largest
retailer and private sector employer
in the world. Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon
Musk’s partner in the newly proposed
‘Department of Government Efficiency’,
literally wrote the book (‘Woke, Inc’)
railing against ESG initiatives, painting
them as an undemocratic politicisation
of business whose sole aim, in his view,
should simply be to make money.
Markets, amoral and dispassionate as
they are designed to be, are applauding.
The comparison with China is also stark.
The Chinese capitalist elite has never
captured the state. Fuzzy property rights
and inconsistent application of the law
means that the state can and does
regularly check the power of business
in pursuit of a perceived greater good.
Shareholder outcomes under this
framework have been notably less good
than they have been in the US, despite
far faster GDP growth.
All our investment
decisions look to balance
quality, growth and
value. Whilst America
may score best on the
first two of these factors,
it lags by a growing
margin on the third.
Silicon Valley, California, USA has
been the traditional home of the
country’s technology giants.
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
29
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
30
Financial realities
We believe it is incorrect, however, to
say that a Trump government is entirely
business friendly. Most mainstream
economists caution that his proposals
for tariffs will damage growth for all and
simply be passed on to consumers in the
form of higher prices. Given the inflation
experienced under Biden is often
cited as a reason for the Democrats’
convincing electoral defeat, we expect
to see his proposals watered down with
time. We also note that Trump’s ability
to stimulate the economy this term
via tax cuts is hamstrung by a weak
fiscal position. The US budget deficit
is already large, particularly given we
are not in recession, which is typically
the time governments need to dip
into their coffers as tax revenues fall
and unemployment benefit spending
goes up. Coupled with a large current
account deficit, the US may eventually
prove vulnerable to capital flight. Only
the ‘exorbitant privilege’ of being the
world’s reserve currency is keeping the
bond vigilantes at bay and preventing
America’s ‘Truss’ moment. But this is not
a right. If America continues to spend
beyond its means that will undermine
confidence in Treasuries and America will
struggle to finance its considerable debts
at reasonable rates.
It is wrong to describe US government
bonds such as Treasuries as risk free
assets. Whilst the US government is
certain to pay the coupons on bonds
and repay the principle at maturity, the
value of those payments in real terms
can be undermined by either inflation
or weakness in the currency. We note
that real American interest rates are
increasing (i.e., the gap between inflation
linked Treasury yields and inflation
expectations) indicating that some bond
investors already want extra reward for
the risks they detect.
Concerns about the solidity of fiat
currencies (i.e., those not backed by
physical assets) are used to support
arguments for owning Bitcoin, which are
by design finite in number. In our view,
Bitcoin is a useful barometer of possible
froth in markets.
It is hard to define or prove when a
financial bubble comes into being. If
you add a grain of sand to another and
keep on doing so, at what point does it
become a pile? As we have previously
noted, growing, asset-light businesses
can do extraordinary things that defy
expectations. Future cash flows are
unknown. Proving that businesses of this
type are over-valued is therefore actually
very difficult. We cannot definitively
prove that Tesla is not worth $1.2trillion
dollars despite its scant profits and
shrinking sales volumes. If the carrots
Musk likes to dangle in front of his
acolytes (autonomous driving, humanoid
robots) come good it is possible it is.
Enthusiasm for something like Bitcoin,
which does not, cannot and will never
provide interest or dividends or cash
flows of any sort, is therefore a useful
acid test of common sense. We note
that if you were to own all Bitcoin in
existence (theoretical current value c$2
trillion) you would receive dividends of
zero. $2 trillion could also buy 75% of the
entire FTSE 100, which would generate
dividend income of around $75bn
per year.
In the spirit of open mindedness, we
can see how Bitcoin may be a useful
way to launder money or avoid taxes;
Swiss banking secrecy laws aren’t what
they were, after all. For those who think
Bitcoin will proffer a useful currency
should modern civilisation collapse,
we’ve consulted the literature on this;
books such as Cormac McCarthy’s The
Road and Emily St Mandel’s Station
Eleven suggest you should instead invest
in a shopping trolley, a rifle and a large
quantity of tinned foods. We’re afraid the
Brunner Investment Trust cannot offer
this service.
Profitability and competition
At the heart of the current debate for
global investors is the appropriate
premium for American stocks. With
higher returns, higher growth and a
more shareholder friendly business
environment we believe it is plain some
premium is warranted.
One manifestation of the superiority of
American businesses and the American
system being loaded in favour of the
shareholder is the fact that in the US
profits as a % of GDP are at record
highs. ‘Bowley’s Law’ observes that
economic interests tend to split 70:30
labour to capital over time. In the
past years that’s changed, with more
economic rent accruing to the latter.
This helps explains why stock markets
in the US have roared ahead whilst
real wages have stagnated – the result
being widening inequality. We have
often said that stock market value
accrues in niches. Often those niches
are de facto monopolies, duopolies
or oligopolies where businesses have
established positions that reduces the
intensity of competition that hampers
profitability for most. Indeed, many
of Brunner’s core holdings fit that
description. Barriers to entry, sustainable
competitive advantages and attractive
industry structures are all indicative of
a business’s quality and something we
actively look for when selecting our
holdings. Capitalism is constructed so
that competition should erode super
normal profits but more and more of
the stock market in America comprises
businesses that have developed
enviable resistance to new entrants. With
that comes high profitability and when
combined with growth the result has
been very positive financial outcomes.
A key risk to this is regulation. Lina Kahn,
the Head of the FTC, is pursuing multiple
cases against what she regards as
anti-competitive tactics at companies
like Google, an alleged monopolist,
albeit one that reached that status on
merit and without, arguably, hurting
the consumer. US antitrust authorities
are currently publicly investigating
companies representing more than
40% of the value of the S&P 500. One
of the posited reasons the US market
performed so strongly immediately
after the re-election of Trump is that
his administration will be more tolerant
of the status quo – another example
of regulatory capture – and that
he will replace Kahn with someone
more tolerant of businesses with
‘dominant’ positions.
Network effects – three case
studies from three continents
There are several key sources of
barriers to entry that support high
levels of corporate profitability and
we spend a lot of time thinking about
them. A key one is ‘network effects’;
something that can be seen in several
of our holdings. Take Visa, the payment
processing company, which exists in a
virtual duopoly alongside Mastercard.
There are over four billion Visa cards in
circulation accepted at more than 150
million retail points of sale worldwide
and issued by tens of thousands of
financial institutions. We believe it is
very unlikely Visa’s two-sided network of
31
cards and merchants can be replicated
hence we expect Visa to sustain its
high levels of profitability for many
years. Moreover, as Visa takes a small
percentage fee of most transactions it
processes, it also provides the inflation
protection we covet too. If prices go up,
so do its revenues. In our opinion, this
represents a true currency debasement
hedge, unlike Bitcoin.
Another example of a network is
Brambles. This Australia based company
operates networks of millions of wooden
pallets that are shared and reused by
manufacturers, distributors and retailers
to transport goods. Its core business is
called CHEP (Commonwealth Handling
Equipment Pool) and dates back to
the infrastructure developed to handle
defence supplies during WW2. Today
their network enables a producer in
Idaho to ship its wares to market in
California without having to retrieve
the pallet; it is collected by the CHEP
network and then supplied to users in the
local market. In this industry, scale is key
as it minimises the cost of operating the
network. The business therefore naturally
veers towards a monopoly providing
Brambles with a robust, profitable
business in which we are glad to invest.
Network effects also explain the
strength of Auto Trader Group plc, a
recent addition to the Brunner portfolio.
Virtually all consumers in the UK looking
to buy a second-hand car will visit the
Auto Trader website or app. Because
of this, virtually every second-hand car
dealer in the UK chooses to pay to list
its inventory on Auto Trader. Because
there is an exhaustive list of inventory,
the consumer has no need to look
elsewhere. Once such a marketplace is
established it is highly robust. The net
result, perhaps surprisingly, is that Auto
Trader is one of the most profitable
businesses in the world with operating
margins close to 70%. Perhaps even
more astonishing is that the value of
the company’s ‘property, plant and
equipment’ reported on its balance
sheet is just £15m. The physical cost
of creating Auto Trader was virtually
nothing. Intangible assets, not physically
reproducible, are often the key to the
best businesses.
We work hard to invest thoughtfully
in a way that marries prudence and
opportunism, optimises for quality,
value and growth, always focusing on
the outlook for free cash flows over the
long term. This is the only thing that
gives an equity, or any security, its value.
The rise in ‘assets’ like bitcoin are in our
view demonstrative of a suggestible
market showing signs of speculative
froth. Part of our job is to protect our
shareholders from the ‘madness of
crowds’; hence we think our approach is
particularly pertinent at the present time.
We sincerely hope that the shopping
trolley and rifle will not be needed
anytime soon.
Market review
In Pounds Sterling, The FTSE All World
ex UK increased 27% in the financial
year. The UK FTSE All-Share lagged but
still provided a respectable 16% return.
Together, Brunner’s 70/30 composite
benchmark returned 24%. These are
exceptional returns by any standards
and, as alluded to above, substantially
driven by increases in valuations.
Brunner shareholders should not expect
this to repeat.
Global markets were led by the US. The
S&P 500 increased 34%; a remarkable
outcome. As previously noted, aggregate
profit growth for the companies that
make up the S&P was just 8% which
means that the market got considerably
more expensive over the period. At the
start of the financial year the S&P was
trading at 19x estimates of the next
twelve months profit. By the end it was
trading at 22.5x; levels not seen since the
dotcom bubble. For comparison, the UK
FTSE All-Share trades at just 12x.
Headline multiples of this type garner
a lot of attention. However, they are a
very rudimentary assessment of value
and multiples have had surprisingly little
predictive power for many decades.
What the ‘right’ multiple is depends
on many assumptions such as growth,
returns on invested capital, risk, interest
rates and debt levels. These all vary
and future predictions are subject
to considerable conjecture. This is
what makes a market. Differences in
expectations for these factors help
explain why one company may be worth
25x when one isn’t worth 10x. Despite
being lumped together, equities are a
very broad asset class indeed.
One of the reasons the US market trades
at a premium to most others is that it is
widely regarded as being higher quality
and higher growth than those elsewhere.
At the start of the
financial year the S&P
was trading at 19x
estimates of the next
twelve months profit. By
the end it was trading
at 22.5x; levels not seen
since the dotcom bubble.
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
Almost every second-hand car
dealer in the UK pays to list
its inventory with Auto Trader
Group plc, a recent addition to
the portfolio.
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
32
33
Historically this is a more or less factual
statement, and sensible forecasts imply
this superiority will continue. It is worth
more for good reason, in our view.
However, as we note in our opening
report, higher valuations handicap
future returns. There are therefore good
reasons to think future equity returns
in the US may be less spectacular in
comparison to other markets.
Europe ex UK was the laggard, returning
just 8% over the period. Whilst weak
growth and political instability across
the region are cited as culprits, this
ignores the reality of most global listed
businesses which have little to do with
where they are listed. Germany’s stock
market actually fared quite well, driven
by larger insurers such as Munich Re
and Allianz, and software company SAP.
French stock markets, on the other hand,
have far more exposure to luxury goods
companies such as LVMH which suffered
as China, a key end market, slowed.
Looking at global sectors it was actually
Financials, not Technology, that led
the pack in FY2024 with a 37% return.
In many markets traditional insurers
and banks rebounded from low levels;
stubbornly high interest rates and
strong credit conditions are fertile soil
for both, and meaningful cash returns
to shareholders from European banks
have finally resumed after a decade
of absence in the wake of the 2008
financial crisis. Information Technology
was close behind, providing a 36%
return. The largest stocks in this sector
are overwhelmingly listed in the US,
helping explain the country’s recent
performance and valuation. Associated
sectors such as Communication Services
and Consumer Discretionary (which
house stocks like Alphabet and Meta,
and Amazon and Tesla, respectively)
also fared well, providing a 33% and
23% return.
Industrials was the other standout
performer at 28%. Much of the
excitement here also revolved around
the technology theme. Artificial
intelligence data centres, for example,
are hugely energy intensive and the
complementary equipment needed
has boosted demand across the
industrial landscape.
Laggards include Consumer Staples
(12%), Healthcare (12%), Materials (6%)
and Energy (11%). In normal times these
would be considered healthy returns.
In 2024 they were simply insufficient
to keep up with a market fixated on
technology and surprised by the cyclical
strength in financials.
Portfolio review
We look to balance quality, value and
growth factors within the portfolio with
a focus at all times on the quantity,
trajectory and riskiness of cash flows
over the long term. This is a timeless way
of investing, designed to withstand the
vicissitudes of the market.
In 2024, growth momentum was by
far the most important factor driving
the market. Other factors like quality
and value, particularly, were relegated
in relevance. As such, our balanced
approach wasn’t helpful for relative
performance. Whilst NAV growth was
very strong in absolute terms, it lagged
the market, delivering 17.9% vs 23.6%
for our 70/30 composite global/UK
benchmark. As highlighted earlier,
the US market has been driven by the
performance of a small handful of
increasingly expensive stocks and is now
more concentrated than many funds and
trusts. Whilst Brunner’s shareholders are,
of course, free to invest in index funds
they should do so in the knowledge that
their diversification may in that case
decrease. Nokia’s weight in the Finnish
benchmark peaked at 72% in 2004; the
idea that the benchmark is necessarily
lower risk than a diversified trust is
nonsensical in this context.
When we look at the sector attribution
for our relative performance in FY2024,
we can quickly see that our weightings
were on balance positive. We were
under-weight in lagging sectors like
Basic Materials and Consumer Staples
and over-weight outperforming
Financials. This was somewhat offset by
an over-weight to the underperforming
Healthcare sector. As a reminder, these
weightings are an outcome of our
bottom-up, stock specific work. The same
is true for our geographical weightings,
where there was nothing of particular
importance to highlight.
Most of the underperformance is best
explained at the stock level within the
Financials and Technology sectors. Both
of these important sectors roared ahead.
Our holdings participated but did not
keep up. To a large extent, this reflects
our balanced approach, but also our
bias to prudency. For example, within
Looking at global sectors
it was Financials that led
the pack in FY2024 with a
37% return… Information
Technology was close
behind, providing a
36% return.
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
34
the diverse Financials sector our skew
is to higher quality, recurring fee-based
business models. This year saw the
outperformance of lower quality, more
asset intensive businesses like traditional
banks and insurers. We had exposure
here, but not enough to keep up with
the market. Where we have exposure,
it is generally at the less levered and
less risky end of the spectrum. This
means that we always run the risk of
underperforming in a cyclical rally, as
happened this year, but we should be
better protected on the downside in the
event of a cyclical downturn. We also
had one holding, Close Brothers, which
had serious company specific issues
related to its motor finance business.
On the plus side, we sold the holding
before the full extent of the company’s
problems became fully apparent,
necessitating the cancellation of their
dividend. Ownership was a mistake we
endeavour to learn from.
Within the Technology sector, our
reluctance to hold Nvidia cost the trust
well over 2% of relative performance.
We have pored over Nvidia at length.
The company makes the silicon chips
used in AI applications. Whilst we
believe the company is deserving of
much admiration, we are uncomfortable
with the sustainability of demand for
their products. Many of the ultimate
users of Nvidia silicon are loss making
AI start ups, repeatedly ‘training’
models, with no clear ‘killer apps’ or
credible paths to profitability. In Carlota
Perez’s seminal study of technological
revolutions, she highlights that it is often
not those who provide the hardware
that powers the revolution that are
the winners, rather those who use the
technology in a value creative way.
For example. Facebook and Netflix
benefitted more from the internet than
hardware manufacturer Cisco Systems,
despite the latter being the most
valuable company in the world in 2000.
Technology hardware tends to be very
competitive and deflationary. There is a
saying in the industry: despite any piece
of hardware’s apparent complexity,
at the end of the day ‘everything is a
toaster’; easily reverse engineered, and
ultimately commoditised.
For many reasons, we think Nvidia
is better than that and we don’t rule
out owning it in the future. However,
at present we prefer to participate in
the nascent AI industry via what we
believe are more prudent and diversified
avenues. Our biggest contributor to
performance in the year was TSMC;
Taiwan Semi. TSMC is a ‘foundry’
that manufactures chips on behalf
of companies such as Nvidia. These
are exceptionally complex devices,
cramming billions of transistors into
an area little more than a square inch.
TSMC are the only company capable
of commercially manufacturing at the
highest resolution. They will therefore
prosper irrespective of whether Nvidia
or an emergent competitor design
the chips. They also make chips for
numerous other end markets, reducing
the absolute risk of investing in this
fast-changing area.
Two of our other top 10 contributors to
performance in the year also benefitted
from growth in AI. Both Amphenol and
Schneider Electric make components
and systems that are used in the
construction and connection to the grid
of energy hungry AI data centres.
Elsewhere, our top contributors
were a mixed bunch. Given we aim
for Brunner to be a well-diversified,
timeless investment, we always find this
pleasing. Top contributors include GE
Aerospace, a company that makes the
jet engines powering three quarters
of all commercial flights worldwide;
a testament to their extraordinary
engineering prowess. Also within the
travel space, Intercontinental Hotels
Group performed well. Results here
have continued to impress as hotel
rates continue to increase and owners
add new hotels to the IHG franchise
system. Both companies enjoy largely
recurring revenues guaranteed under
long term contracts in a growth industry
with considerable barriers to entry;
all are hallmarks we look for in our
investment cases.
Despite being London listed, IHG’s
main market is the US; the company
has little to do with the UK economy.
The same is true for Baltic Classifieds
Group, which is also listed in London.
This was another top ten contributor
to performance during the year. The
company operates the equivalent to
Rightmove, Auto Trader and eBay in
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Businesses
like this which have dominant scale
enjoy exceptional economics and rank
amongst the most profitable businesses
in existence. Having seen BCG replicate
the model of the UK equivalents, we are
pleased to have participated in their
well-deserved success.
We also had success in UK with
building products company Tyman
and homebuilder Redrow. Both were
subject to takeover bids during the year,
perhaps reflecting the exceptional value
corporate buyers are seeing in the UK
market at present.
Aside from not owning Nvidia, not
owning Meta (parent of Facebook)
also hurt during the year. Elsewhere,
detractors were varied. Microchip,
a supplier of basic semiconductors
suffered a serious downturn as
customers worked down inventory they
had accumulated after COVID. We
reduced the position but should have
done so earlier. Our small position
Nestle also had a tough year, with
growth slowing after a series of large
inflation driven price increases in prior
years and costs pressuring margins,
Elsewhere, our top contributors were a mixed bunch.
Given we aim for Brunner to be a well-diversified,
timeless investment, we always find this pleasing.
Over 90 per cent of the world’s
most advanced chips are
currently manufactured by top
performer Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Company.
PHOTO © TSMC
35
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
Top contributor GE Aerospace,
makes the jet engines powering
three quarters of all commercial
flights worldwide.
36
in addition to investors’ reference for
higher growth firms than defensive
consumer staples.
Other detractors include positions in
large companies like Thermo Fisher
Scientific (healthcare equipment and
services) and Totalenergies (resources)
and UnitedHealth (health insurance). In
normal times the moves in these stocks
wouldn’t warrant much of a mention,
but in 2024 they simply failed to keep up
with the narrow, tech driven market.
Investment activity
Whilst our intention is to only buy stocks
we will be happy to own for a long time
(ideally, forever) we reserve the right
to change our mind. The three primary
reasons for doing so are:
1. A change to the original
investment case
2. Valuation
3. Making room for something new
The first reason reflects that investment
necessarily requires judgement about
future events and that we may well be
incorrect in our initial assumptions. As
Keynes said ‘when the facts change,
I change my mind – what do you do,
sir?’. Everything we have read about
prediction, such as Dan Gardner’s and
Philip Tetlock’s ‘Super-Forecasting’,
suggests that altering positions as
evidence changes is imperative. We see
little merit in standing still for the sake
of it. We aim to have ‘strong opinions,
loosely held’.
Portfolio turnover in 2024 was around
18%, implying an average holding period
of around five and a half years. We
added seven new names to the portfolio
during the year. Six of those were in the
first half. They were:
1. Bank of Ireland
2. General Electric (now trading a
GE Aerospace)
3. Inchcape PLC
4. Roper Technologies
5. Alphabet
6. American Financial Group
For details of these, please see our Half
Yearly Financial Report, 31 May 2024.
In the second half we added one new
name: Auto Trader Group PLC, the
eponymous classified vehicles listings
website. Virtually every second-hand
car dealer in the UK lists its inventory on
Auto Trader, where its dominant share
of consumer attention means it provides
their primary source of customer traffic.
Growth comes from pricing power,
adding new functionality for dealers
and forays into the new car market. The
company has no debt and the asset
light nature of the business means
all accounting profit is converted into
cash, which is returned to shareholders
via dividends and buybacks. We are
excited to own another high, growing
and reliable cash flow generator to
the portfolio.
Full sales during the first half included
St James Place (UK wealth manager),
Close Brothers (UK specialist lender),
ANZ Group (Australian bank), Rentokil
(pest control) and Intuit (software).
Please see our half year report for detail.
In the second half we also sold our small
residual positions in Estee Lauder and
New holdings Complete sales
Bank of Ireland St James Place
GE Aerospace Close Brothers
Inchcape PLC ANZ Group
Roper Technologies Rentokil
Alphabet Intuit
American Financial Group Estee Lauder
Auto Trader Group PLC Novo Nordisk
Portfolio turnover in
2024 was around 18%,
implying an average
holding period of around
five and a half years.
37
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
Ozempic and Wegovy
manufacturer Novo
Nordisk has been a
successful investment,
but we opted to sell
into strength.
PHOTO © NOVO NORDISK
38
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
39
Novo Nordisk, which we had been
selling down for some time.
Estee Lauder has been a disappointing
holding in the last couple of years
as sales in China, the key growth
driver, reversed. Conversely, Danish
pharmaceutical company Novo has
been a terrific holding, but we opted
to sell into strength. The company has
become very reliant on a single active
ingredient called semaglutide used both
in Ozempic and Wegovy, its best-selling
drugs for diabetes and weight loss
respectively. Semaglutide is patented
by Novo but loses protection in 2031
in the US, at which point the drugs will
lose exclusivity and be subject to generic
competition. History shows us that this
is likely to decimate the profitability
of the original. In our interpretation,
this made the company too reliant for
comfort on the approval of new drugs
with superior efficacy to the current
generation. History also shows us that
the discovery and approval of such
drugs is often little more than a coin toss;
precisely the sort of investment case we
seek to avoid. Whilst 2031 is beyond the
horizon of many market participants (the
average US investor holds each stock
for less than 6 months) and certainly
beyond the three year profit forecasts
of most of the financial models upon
which many investors rely, we think this is
a great example of why thinking about
cash flows over a longer period is vital.
Without Novo being able to substantially
improve upon its current range of drugs,
it is extremely unlikely the company’s
valuation can be rationally justified.
Market outlook
We would generally prefer not to make
prognostications about the direction
of either economies or markets in
the short term. As US economist JK
Galbraith wisely noted, ‘The only function
of economic forecasting is to make
astrology look respectable’. Rather, we
focus on delivering a portfolio of diverse,
robust equity investments which sensibly
balance quality, value and growth. If
those investments generate lots of cash
and if their cash-flow streams grow then
outcomes in the longer term should
be good.
Having said that, we have alluded in our
commentary to some of the extremes
seen in markets at present. Most
obviously this includes the transatlantic
gap in valuations and the extreme
excitement around artificial intelligence.
We do not want to over-emphasise the
transatlantic gap in valuation as it exists
for good reason; American companies
grow faster and create more value.
But, as we highlight, cash returns are
also important to long term equity
outcomes and lower multiples boost the
percentage cash yields, ceteris paribus.
Much focus has been on the Magnificent
7 which now account for well over
one third of the US market’s value.
Comparisons with the dotcom bubble
are regularly made. We think these
are largely misguided. With a couple
of notable exceptions, we think the
valuations for these companies are
broadly reasonable. These are growing,
very profitable companies with many
quality attributes; they deserve to be
valued highly. It is actually elsewhere in
the American market where we see froth.
Relatively low growth companies trading
at multiples we struggle to understand,
or lower quality companies that are
riding the AI wave. These are the areas
we are most keen to avoid.
How the AI market evolves is likely
to be pivotal in 2025. Expectations
are enormously high. If you follow
the money, most AI model builders –
Anthropic, etc. – are burning cash. The
use case and method of monetisation
is not yet clear. Hundreds of billions
of dollars are being spent on the
industry’s enabling infrastructure. Even
in a world where we become inured to
large numbers, that is a vast amount
of money. Without useful, profitable
applications, spend will collapse under
financial gravity. Capital expenditure of
this type is generally cyclical. At some
point a downcycle is therefore likely,
which will send shockwaves through
the sector when it comes. However, if
artificial intelligence proves as useful
as its proponents promise we have no
doubt it will have a lasting impact on
economies and markets. Bill Gates was
prophetic when he said that we always
overestimate the change that will occur
in the next two years and underestimate
the change that will occur in the next
ten. We look forward to seeing the new
businesses that inventive, imaginative
entrepreneurs build using AI technology.
We’re just not sure we’ve seen them yet.
Thinking about cash flows over a longer period
is vital. Without Novo Nordisk being able to
substantially improve upon its current range of drugs,
it is extremely unlikely the company’s valuation can
be rationally justified.
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
40
The Holiday Inn Miami
Beach-Oceanfront is just
one of more than 6,500
hotels in top performer
Intercontinental Hotels
Group’s portfolio.
PHOTO © IHG
40
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
41
Long-term focus
Our focus is on understanding how a business evolves and
creates value over the long term. It is only over longer periods
that the fundamental attributes of a businesses or industry
reveal themselves. It is also over longer periods that the
power of compounding takes place. A small cohort of high
return, growth businesses are able to deliver exceptional
outcomes for shareholders over time. Patience is a prerequisite
for participation.
Factually, most equities are long duration assets, whose present
value is derived from cash flows expected well into the future.
We therefore believe it is sensible to align our analytical
timeframe with that reality. Our attention is skewed to factors
such as returns on invested capital, sustainable competitive
advantages, barriers to entry, long term growth rates, capital
allocation policies and leverage. Ultimately, considerations
such as these will determine the quantity, trajectory and
riskiness of the cash flows that the trust will receive from its
holdings. We believe the stock market remains excessively
focused on the short term. Through detailed research and
analysis focused on what truly matters, we seek to deliver
superior investment returns.
A balanced, diversified portfolio
Drawing on the full resource of AllianzGI’s global platform, we
look across all industries and geographies to select the most
attractive investment ideas for the trust’s portfolio. We believe
in building a balanced portfolio that is diversified across a wide
range of idiosyncratic opportunities and risks. In this way the
portfolio can be relied upon to deliver a steady and consistent
capital and income return.
Research intensive, focus on cash flow
AllianzGI’s research platform combines a large global
team of equity and credit portfolio managers and analysts,
environmental, social and governance specialists and our
own Grassroots* market research organisation. Collectively,
these provide Brunner’s fund managers with thoughtful, high
quality analysis of a wide range of businesses and industries,
augmented by insights into structural and cyclical trends. Our
research emphasises the analysis of sustainable company
cash flows, which we believe provides the truest measure
of corporate performance. (*GrassrootsSM is a division
of AllianzGI)
Investment philosophy and
stock selection process
Quality: stable above average returns
– Long term competitive advantage
– Strong balance sheets
– High barriers to entry
– Management quality
– Stable/improving ROCE/RoE
– Sound on ESG issues
We seek to identify
this universe through
fundamental research
Quality
Growth Valuation
Secular growth
– Addressable market growth
– Sustainable growth – technology, brand
– Long term, through-cycle approach
– Avoid structural decline
Value, not just ‘cheap’
– Reverse Discounted Cash Flow
– Enterprise Value vs. Cash returns
– Price/Book vs. Return on Equity
– Dividends – an output not input
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
42
Stock selection – focus on quality, growth
and valuation
Our stock selection process blends assessments of business
quality, long-term growth potential and valuation, resulting in
a holistic view of a company, the risk factors and, ultimately, the
drivers of shareholder value.
Quality is about understanding the intrinsic attributes of a
business model. High quality companies are those with high
returns on invested capital supported by long-term competitive
advantages, shareholder friendly management teams, sound
ESG and strong balance sheets.
Such companies tend to be highly profitable, generating
substantial cash flow that can be used to fund further, value-
creative growth or returned to shareholders as dividends or
buybacks. Business quality can vary enormously across and
within industries. Fortunately, as global investors with a large
investible universe, we can afford to be highly selective.
To assess long-term growth potential, it is important to
understand the secular forces that are shaping the economy
and society, such as demographics, electrification and
digitalisation. This provides the context in which to assess
broader industry drivers as well as a company’s position within
the industry. Particular emphasis is placed on differentiating
between structural and cyclical growth. Whilst we will invest
in cyclical companies, a much greater value is placed on the
structural element. The combination of a high-quality business
model and long-term growth is a particularly powerful driver of
shareholder value. Most of the world’s truly great equities have
enjoyed these twin attributes.
Company valuation seeks to determine whether there is
sufficient upside to warrant investing. We look for companies
where the quality and/or long-term growth potential is not fully
appreciated. We want to anticipate rather than react and are
careful not to overpay, for example by identifying companies
with structural growth masked by a cyclical downturn or those
where we believe business quality is improving. We employ
a wide range of valuation tools, such as reverse DCFs (which
allow us to determine currently discounted assumptions), free
cash flow yields and relative multiples. At all times we are
intellectually honest, recognising that the valuation of unknown
future cash flows is inherently uncertain. We prefer to be
directionally correct, rather than precisely wrong.
ESG considerations straddle these three factors. Good
governance influences quality, for example. Environmental
factors will present opportunities for growth and threats to
terminal value. AllianzGI’s sustainability research team is fully
integrated into the broader investment research platform,
allowing us to develop a deep understanding of these risks and
opportunities. As long-term investors, these considerations are
critical to our investment process.
Our ultimate goal is to provide a balanced portfolio, which
optimises for aggregate quality, growth and value.
Selling stocks
Despite taking a long-term approach, we are still active
managers. In general, there are three situations where stocks
will be sold from the portfolio:
– Where there has been a material change to the investment
case. Whilst we work hard to minimise mistakes, we
recognise that we can make errors of judgement. Businesses
can evolve in an adverse direction, despite our best efforts to
avoid investments in those that do.
– Where the valuation has reached uncomfortably high levels
and imply expectations that clearly exceed what we believe
to be reasonable.
– Where a sale is required to raise cash for a superior
investment opportunity elsewhere.
Portfolio construction
The portfolio consists of a minimum of 50 holdings that
are selected on their individual merits whilst taking
into consideration the exposure to individual industries,
geographies, themes, factors and other idiosyncratic risk
factors, ensuring that the overall portfolio remains well
balanced and diversified.
The size of each individual holding reflects the level of
conviction. Typically, this reflects our balanced judgement
regarding the quality, growth and value of each investment,
with additional considerations related to the likely range of
outcomes (a proxy for risk) and liquidity.
At the portfolio level, the objective is to ensure that stock
specific risk – the risk which results from our stock selection
decisions – is the primary driver of the portfolio’s returns.
Residual risks such as currency, style, geography or
macroeconomic are monitored and managed to ensure that
they are not driving the overall portfolio’s returns. Ultimately,
the aim is to optimise the portfolio to achieve the dual objective
of consistent benchmark outperformance combined with an
attractive and growing income.
43
Several issues may be covered in each meeting.
Company engagement activities
Our investment process does not end with purchases of shares. We believe that we have an important duty to engage with the
boards and executive management teams of the companies in the portfolio. This is not purely about holding management
to account, but also about influencing company strategy and promoting effective governance, to help improve long term
performance. In particular, we focus on the sustainability of the business model and factors such as the environmental impact of
the business, social policies and capital management. The table shows the number of our engagements with businesses last year,
and breaks this down into different categories and by sector.
Communication
Services
Consumer
Discretionary
Consumer
Staples
Energy
Financials
Health
Industrials
Materials
Technology
Utilities
Total
Audit &
accounting
1
Business conduct
and culture
1
Capital
management
4
Corporate
governance
21
Environmental
risks or impacts
14
Financial
performance
1
Operational
performance
2
Risk
management
2
Social risks
or impacts
20
Strategy or
business model
11
Transparency
and disclosure
4
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
44
AllianzGI does considerable proprietary work in ESG analysis and at the moment also uses research provided by MSCI to help
identify Environmental, Social and Governance factors that can impact the businesses of the companies in the portfolio. The
charts below show that the Brunner portfolio’s ESG ratings compare well against the benchmark’s ESG ratings over the three
year period under review. They show the rating of the Brunner portfolio on Environment, Social and Governance risks and
combined ESG risk measurements compared to the rating of the Benchmark (70% FTSE World Ex UK Index and 30% FTSE All-
Share Index) scored on a scale of 1-10 (where 10 is high) on a quarterly basis over the three years from 1 January 2017 to 31
December 2024.
Source: MSCI/AllianzGI.
Environmental, Social and Governance
performance
8.0
4.0
Q1 17 Q4 24 Q1 17 Q4 24
8.0
4.0
8.0
4.0
Q1 17 Q4 24 Q1 17 Q4 24
8.0
4.0
Brunner ESG MSCI Environment BM ESG MSCI Environment Brunner ESG MSCI Governance BM ESG MSCI Governance
Brunner ESG MSCI Social BM ESG MSCI Social Brunner ESG MSCI Aggregate BM ESG MSCI Aggregate
Environmental performance v benchmark
Social performance v benchmark
Governance performance v benchmark
ESG performance v benchmark
45
Visa operates the world’s largest consumer payment system.
The company’s extraordinary network consists of 4.6bn cards
in circulation, issued by over 14,000 financial institutions
which can be used at over 150 million merchant locations in
more than 200 countries. In 2024 the company processed an
average of 639m transactions per day with a total value of
$16 trillion.
Sector: Software & Computer Services
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £41,347,211
Percentage of portfolio: 6.4%
Sector: Industrial Support Services
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £26,789,910
Percentage of portfolio: 4.2%
Sector: Health Care Providers
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £26,921,235
Percentage of portfolio: 4.2%
Sector: Technology Hardware & Equipment
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £22,618,867
Percentage of portfolio: 3.5%
UnitedHealth is a leading health insurer, offering a variety of
plans and services to employers, individuals and government
programmes such as Medicare in the US. The business operates
two complementary divisions – UnitedHealthcare, which
manages health benefits, and Optum, which delivers cost-
efficient care aided by technology and data. Together, the
company plays a key role in operating and managing costs
throughout the healthcare system.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the
world’s leading semiconductor ‘foundry’ with an exclusive focus
on manufacturing products for clients such as Apple, Nvidia
and Broadcom including a virtual monopoly making the most
complex, ‘leading edge’ chips (e.g., the iPhone’s A18 chip, which
squeezes 15bn transistors into 3cm2). In 2023 the company
made 11,895 products for 528 customers across a wide range
of end markets, from AI to automotive.
UnitedHealth
Taiwan Semiconductor
Microsoft
Visa
1
3
2
4
Microsoft is one of the world’s leading technology companies,
with a unique position in enterprise software. Under the
leadership of CEO Satya Nadella, the company has shifted
away from a traditional ‘on-premise’ model to focus on its
Azure cloud computing platform. The company’s Office 365
suite has over four hundred million users and its Windows
operating system continues to dominate the PC market. The
company is an early leader in artificial intelligence applications.
Top twenty holdings
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
46
Auto Trader Group operates the UK’s primary second hand
car digital marketplace. Over 75% of all minutes spent by UK
consumers on automotive marketplace websites were spent
on Auto Trader. Growth comes from increased revenue per
retailer as the company adds new features and increases listing
prices. The company’s financials are exceptional; operating
margins of around 70% are amongst the highest of any listed
company worldwide.
Sector: Travel & Leisure
Headquarters: United Kingdom
Value of holding: £21,290,172
Percentage of portfolio: 3.3%
Sector: Software & Computer Services
Headquarters: United Kingdom
Value of holding: £16,544,635
Percentage of portfolio: 2.6%
Sector: Software & Computer Services
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £20,115,714
Percentage of portfolio: 3.1%
Sector: Non-Life Insurance
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £16,457,071
Percentage of portfolio: 2.6%
American Financial Group (AFG) is a leading US specialty
insurer with a strong and consistent track record of good
underwriting and investment performance. The company
provides insurance across a range of niche risk areas, including
crops, marine, and surety. Established in 1872, AFG has been
run by the Lindner family for more than 50 years. The family
own 15% of the company, aligning incentives with outside
shareholders and ensuring the business is run for the long-term.
Alphabet
American Financial Group
Intercontinental Hotels
Auto Trader Group
5
7
6
8
Intercontinental Hotels Group is one of the world’s largest hotel
companies with 6,500 hotels and a further 2,200 in its pipeline.
The business model is asset light; a franchise or management
fee is charged to hotel property owners who licence its systems
and brands – including Holiday Inn, Intercontinental and Six
Senses – under long-term contracts. Low capital requirements
means it generates lots of free cash which is returned to
shareholders via generous dividends and buybacks.
Alphabet is the parent company of Google, YouTube, Google
Cloud and ‘Other Bets’ such as Waymo (autonomous driving)
and Deepmind (AI). Whilst recent results have been terrific,
the company trades at a very reasonable valuation, reflecting
uncertainty about the future of the search industry in an era
of AI. Our belief is that Google’s distribution, low cost to serve
and ability to weave AI generated answers into search queries
makes it unlikely that the company will be unseated as leader.
47
Founded in 1927, Gallagher is today one of the world’s leading
insurance brokerage, risk management, and HR & benefits
consulting companies. Gallagher has a particular strength in
advising medium-sized clients, where competitors typically
lack Gallagher’s scale, industry expertise, and data and
analytics capabilities. Organic growth combined with frequent
acquisitions of smaller competitors has resulted in average
revenue growth of 11% a year for the past 20 years.
Sector: Investment Banking & Brokerage
Headquarters: Switzerland
Value of holding: £15,510,265
Percentage of portfolio: 2.4%
Sector: Non-Life Insurance
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £15,091,701
Percentage of portfolio: 2.3%
Sector: Investment Banking & Brokerage
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £15,298,332
Percentage of portfolio: 2.4%
Sector: Medical Equipment & Services
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £15,086,581
Percentage of portfolio: 2.3%
Charles Schwab is the largest discount brokerage in the US,
serving both individual investors and registered investment
advisors. Charles Schwab’s vast size and extensive use of
scalable technology results in low costs per customer, allowing
it to offer lower fees than most competitors whilst still making
a healthy profit. 36.5 million customers trust Schwab with more
than $10 trillion of assets. Assets have grown at a rate of 11% a
year since 2003.
Thermo Fisher Scientific is the world leader in serving the
science industry, with annual revenue over $40 billion. With
a mission to enable customers ‘to make the world healthier,
cleaner and safer’, they provide a wide range of products and
services that enable life sciences research. These range from
relatively basic laboratory supplies to electron microscopes,
CRISPR gene editing machines, clinical research services and
the production of complex pharmaceutical ingredients.
Charles Schwab
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Partners Group
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
9
11
10
12
Partners Group is a leading private markets firm based in
Switzerland, and one of the most valuable publicly listed
alternative asset managers in the world. The company
provides tailored solutions to over 800 institutional clients
seeking investment expertise in private equity, infrastructure,
real estate and credit. Partners Group has grown assets under
management at more than 16% a year since 2006, and today
manages $152 billion.
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
48
Ametek is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and
electromechanical devices serving a diverse range of niche
markets and applications. Broad end market exposure reduces
dependence of any single market, technology or customer
and the focus on niches allows the company to differentiate
via technology and innovation. Many of their businesses are
aligned with secular growth trends including health care,
energy, aerospace and industrial automation.
Sector: Oil, Gas & Coal
Headquarters: United Kingdom
Value of holding: £14,962,008
Percentage of portfolio: 2.3%
Sector: Electronic & Electrical Equipment
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £13,863,951
Percentage of portfolio: 2.2%
Sector: Aerospace & Defence
Headquarters: North America
Value of holding: £14,150,594
Percentage of portfolio: 2.2%
Sector: Industrial Transportation
Headquarters: Spain
Value of holding: £12,891,115
Percentage of portfolio: 2.0%
After divesting all other business lines, GE now trades as
GE Aerospace, a pure play jet propulsion business. The
company provides the engines that power three out of
every four commercial flights worldwide; a testament to the
company’s leadership. The company’s large and growing
installed base of engines provides a reliable, very profitable
recurring revenue stream coming from the sale of parts and
maintenance services.
Aena owns and operates virtually every airport in Spain, a
country with a large tourism industry and substantial domestic
flight requirements. The company has free rein to charge duty
free retailers, restaurants and other commercial tenants free
market rents. As the number of passengers and the spend per
passenger grows, so will rents, leading to growing EBITDA.
Unlike many infrastructure companies, Aena owns all the
airports freehold and carries less debt, permitting a high and
growing dividend yield.
General Electric
Aena
Shell
AMETEK
13
15
14
16
Leading integrated energy company Shell has strength in
natural gas, which is used in conjunction with renewable
sources to provide uninterrupted power when wind and solar
generation is low. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has also proved
useful replacing Russian gas and is being used to substitute
coal, a more polluting fuel. The company is increasing
investment in low-carbon energy solutions such as EV charging
and hydrogen and is committed to being net zero by 2050.
49
Total value of top twenty holdings: £358,218,825 Percentage of portfolio: 55.6%
DNB is Norway’s leading bank with high market share and
profitability in a rational, consolidated and prudently regulated
market. Norway is a stable, wealthy jurisdiction where banks
are required to have high levels of capital, protecting them
against adverse developments. DNB ranks as one of the
world’s safest banks with a credit rating of AAA (MSCI) and
exceptional performance in the EU’s most recent stress tests.
The company pays a very generous dividend.
Sector: Banks
Headquarters: United Kingdom
Value of holding: £12,520,413
Percentage of portfolio: 1.9%
Sector: Banks
Headquarters: Norway
Value of holding: £12,305,014
Percentage of portfolio: 1.9%
Sector: Personal Care, Drug & Grocery
Headquarters: United Kingdom
Value of holding: £12,337,500
Percentage of portfolio: 1.9%
Sector: Industrial Support Services
Headquarters: United Kingdom
Value of holding: £12,116,536
Percentage of portfolio: 1.9%
Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods
companies, selling more than 400 brands including Dove,
Wall’s and Knorr in over 190 countries. It is particularly well
known for its strong market position in emerging markets such
as India, Nigeria and Indonesia and for its early commitment
to reduce the adverse environmental and social impact
of its business. Under a new CEO, the company has begun
significantly investing in innovation and premiumisation.
Accenture is a leading global professional services company
that offers consulting, technology and operations services.
Almost 800,000 employees in 49 countries serve more than
9,000 diverse corporate clients worldwide, including three
quarters of the Fortune Global 500. The company works with
partners such as Microsoft, SAP and Google to provide a
comprehensive suite of services and solutions to corporations
eager to ensure they employ the best technology possible.
Unilever
Accenture
Bank of Ireland Group
DNB Bank
17
19
18
20
Like many European banks, Bank of Ireland has spent much of
the time since the financial crisis rebuilding and strengthening
its balance sheet. Significant improvements to lending
standards and a less competitive Irish banking landscape
has seen returns improve, leverage fall and large cash returns
begin in earnest. Credit conditions permitting, we expect
these to continue, providing shareholders with dividends and
buybacks that dwarf those on offer in most other sectors.
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
50
Geographical distribution (%)
Historical geographical distribution (%)
Portfolio analysis
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
North America United Kingdom Continental Europe Pacific Basin Japan
50
40
30
20
10
0
50
40
30
20
10
0
North America
United Kingdom
Europe
Pacific Basin
Japan
27.30
48.74
44.29
25.09
26.15
2.41
2.06
19.76
2.37
1.83
Data as at 30 November each year
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
2023 2024
50
51
Sector distribution (%)
Sector breakdown by country (%)
25
20
15
10
5
0
2024
Industrials Technology Financials Health Care
Consumer
Goods
Energy
Consumer
Staples
Utilities
Basic
Materials
Real Estate
North America
10.08 14.67 10.18 10.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
United Kingdom
3.93 2.57 4.24 1.90 6.76 2.32 2.42 1.42 0.00 0.00
Other
10.29 7.03 6.07 1.50 0.57 1.70 1.02 1.03 0.00 0.00
25
20
15
10
5
0
Industrials Technology Financials Health Care
Consumer
Goods
Energy
Consumer
Staples
Utilities
Basic
Materials
Real Estate
2024
24.30 24.27 20.49 13.70 7.33 4.02 3.44 2.45 0.00 0.00
2023
24.51 19.89 21.09 14.30 7.23 5.06 3.91 2.63 0.93 0.45
51
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
52
Top twenty holding.
Added during the year.
Name Sector Value (£)
% of
invested
funds
North America
Microsoft Software & Computer Services 41,347,211 6.41
UnitedHealth Health Care Providers 26,921,235 4.18
Visa Industrial Support Services 26,789,910 4.16
Taiwan Semiconductor Technology Hardware & Equipment 22,618,867 3.51
Alphabet Software & Computer Services 20,115,714 3.12
American Financial Group Non-Life Insurance 16,457,071 2.55
Charles Schwab Investment Banking & Brokerage 15,298,332 2.37
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Non-Life Insurance 15,091,701 2.34
Thermo Fisher Scientific Medical Equipment & Services 15,086,581 2.34
General Electric Aerospace & Defence 14,150,594 2.19
AMETEK Electronic & Electrical Equipment 13,863,951 2.15
Roper Technologies Software & Computer Services 12,077,737 1.87
Cooper Medical Equipment & Services 10,353,203 1.61
S&P Global Finance & Credit Services 10,284,050 1.60
Corpay Industrial Support Services 10,210,030 1.58
Align Technology Medical Equipment & Services 9,389,651 1.46
CME Group Investment Banking & Brokerage 8,542,243 1.32
Microchip Technology Technology Hardware & Equipment 8,139,019 1.26
Amphenol Technology Hardware & Equipment 6,958,547 1.08
Adobe Software & Computer Services 6,010,459 0.93
AbbVie Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 4,574,137 0.71
314,280,243 48.74
Listed equity holdings
at 30 November 2024
53
Top twenty holding.
Added during the year.
Name Sector Value (£)
% of
invested
funds
United Kingdom
Intercontinental Hotels Travel & Leisure 21,290,172 3.30
Auto Trader Group Software & Computer Services 16,544,635 2.57
Shell Oil, Gas & Coal 14,962,008 2.32
Bank Of Ireland Group Banks 12,520,413 1.94
Unilever Personal Care, Drug & Grocery 12,337,500 1.91
Accenture Industrial Support Services 12,116,536 1.88
Baltic Classifieds Software & Computer Services 11,228,750 1.74
SSE Electricity 9,149,443 1.42
IG Group Investment Banking & Brokerage 8,138,750 1.26
Barratt Redrow Household Goods & Home Construction 7,909,274 1.23
Haleon Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 7,745,551 1.20
SThree Industrial Support Services 7,204,813 1.12
Inchcape Retailers 7,189,244 1.12
RELX Media 7,132,421 1.11
Admiral Group Non-Life Insurance 6,696,350 1.04
DCC Industrial Support Services 6,011,250 0.93
GSK Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 4,527,505 0.70
Diageo Beverages 3,292,800 0.51
175,997,415 27.30
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
54
Name Sector Value (£)
% of
invested
funds
Continental Europe
Partners Group Investment Banking & Brokerage (Switzerland) 15,510,265 2.41
Aena Industrial Transportation (Spain) 12,891,115 2.00
DNB Bank Banks (Norway) 12,305,014 1.91
ASML Holding Technology Hardware & Equipment (Netherlands) 11,507,773 1.78
Assa Abloy Construction & Materials (Sweden) 11,307,092 1.75
TotalEnergies Oil, Gas & Coal (France) 10,960,784 1.70
Schneider Electric Electronic & Electrical Equipment (France) 10,522,170 1.63
Roche Holdings Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology (Switzerland) 9,673,219 1.50
Atlas Copco Industrial Engineering (Sweden) 8,882,510 1.38
Munich Re Non-Life Insurance (Germany) 6,991,093 1.08
Iberdrola Electricity (Spain) 6,670,760 1.03
Nestle Food Producers (Switzerland) 6,482,605 1.02
Jumbo Leisure Goods (Greece) 3,681,034 0.57
127,385,434 19.76
Pacific Basin
Brambles General Industrials (Australia) 10,940,110 1.70
AIA Life Insurance (Hong Kong) 4,320,498 0.67
15,260,608 2.37
Japan
Itochu General Industrials 11,813,306 1.83
11,813,306 1.83
Total Invested Funds 644,737,006 100.00
Top twenty holding.
Added during the year.
55
Distribution of invested funds
at 30 November 2024
United
Kingdom
%
North
America
%
Other
countries
%
2024
total
%
Composite
benchmark
sector
weighting*
2023
total
%
Industrials
Aerospace & Defence - 2.19 - 2.19 2.46 -
Construction & Materials - - 1.75 1.75 0.97 2.68
Electronic & Electrical Equipment - 2.15 1.63 3.78 1.32 4.78
General Industrials - - 3.53 3.53 1.89 3.02
Industrial Engineering - - 1.38 1.38 1.05 1.88
Industrial Support Services 3.93 5.74 - 9.67 3.60 10.29
Industrial Transportation - - 2.00 2.00 1.69 1.86
3.93 10.08 10.29 24.30 12.98 24.51
Technology
Software & Computer Services 4.31 12.33 - 16.64 10.22 10.74
Technology Hardware & Equipment - 5.85 1.78 7.63 10.89 9.15
4.31 18.18 1.78 24.27 21.11 19.89
Financials
Banks 1.94 - 1.91 3.85 7.69 3.41
Finance & Credit Services - 1.60 - 1.60 1.13 1.29
Investment Banking & Brokerage 1.26 3.69 2.41 7.36 4.14 9.02
Life Insurance - - 0.67 0.67 1.17 0.91
Mortgage REITs - - - - 0.01 -
Non-Life Insurance 1.04 4.89 1.08 7.01 1.94 6.46
4.24 10.18 6.07 20.49 16.08 21.09
Health Care
Health Care Providers - 4.18 - 4.18 1.02 4.42
Medical Equipment & Services - 5.41 - 5.41 2.20 4.65
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 1.90 0.71 1.50 4.11 7.01 5.23
1.90 10.30 1.50 13.70 10.23 14.30
Consumer Goods
Automobiles & Parts - - - - 1.75 -
Consumer Services - - - - 0.93 -
Household Goods & Home Construction 1.23 - - 1.23 0.53 1.25
Leisure Goods - - 0.57 0.57 0.50 0.86
Media 1.11 - - 1.11 2.22 1.57
Personal Goods - - - - 0.75 1.38
Retailers 1.12 - - 1.12 4.60 -
Travel & Leisure 3.30 - - 3.30 1.90 2.17
6.76 - 0.57 7.33 13.18 7.23
INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REVIEW
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
56
United
Kingdom
%
North
America
%
Other
countries
%
2024
total
%
Composite
benchmark
sector
weighting*
2023
total
%
Energy
Oil, Gas & Coal 2.32 - 1.70 4.02 5.36 5.06
Alternative Energy - - - - 0.08 -
2.32 - 1.70 4.02 5.44 5.06
Consumer Staples
Beverages 0.51 - - 0.51 1.58 0.70
Food Producers - - 1.02 1.02 1.05 1.42
Personal Care, Drug & Grocery 1.91 - - 1.91 3.63 1.79
Tobacco - - - - 1.35 -
2.42 - 1.02 3.44 7.61 3.91
Utilities
Electricity
1.42 - 1.03 2.45 1.58 2.63
Gas, Water & Multi-Utilities - - - - 1.36 -
Waste & Disposal Services - - - - 0.19 -
1.42 - 1.03 2.45 3.13 2.63
Basic Materials
Chemicals - - - - 1.03 -
Industrial Materials - - - - 0.09 -
Industrial Metals & Mining - - - - 2.32 0.93
Precious Metals & Mining - - - - 0.30 -
- - - - 3.74 0.93
Real Estate
Real Estate Investment & Services - - - - 0.45 0.45
Real Estate Investment Trusts - - - - 1.94 -
- - - - 2.39 0.45
Telecommunications
Telecommunications Equipment - - - - 0.70 -
Telecom Service Providers - - - - 1.55 -
- - - - 2.25 -
Not classified - - - - 1.86 -
Total 27.30 48.74 23.96 100.00 100.00 100.00
* The classifications and prior year comparatives have been updated, where required, to reflect recent changes in The Industry
Classification Benchmark (ICB) standard.
57
Governance
58 Directors, Manager and advisers
61 Directors’ Report
66 Corporate Governance Statement
68 Management Engagement
Committee Report
69 Nomination Committee Report
70 Remuneration Committee Report
73 Audit Committee Report
76 Statement of directors’ responsibilities
in respect of the financial statements
Mountain View,
California, USA
is home to Alphabet,
the parent company of
Google, a new addition
to the portfolio.
57
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
58
Amanda Aldridge BSc FCACarolan Dobson
BSc Chartered FCSI*
Joined the board in December 2019.
Amanda is a non-executive director
and audit committee chair of Care
REIT, Staffline Group PLC and Helical
plc. She also chairs the audit and risk
committee of The Low Carbon Contracts
Company and The Electricity Settlements
Company. She was formerly a partner
at KPMG LLP and during her career she
was Head of the Retail Sector practice
before becoming Head of Contract
Governance in the Risk-Consulting
Division. Amanda is a Fellow of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in
England and Wales.
Experience:
Amanda brings senior experience in
accounting practice, with specialisms
including risk, and has non-executive
director and audit committee
chair experience on other public
company boards.
Reasons for the recommendation
for re-election:
Amanda has evident skills and
experience both from her background as
a chartered accountant and as an audit
committee chair.
Joined the board in December 2013 and
has been Chair since the AGM in March
2016. She is Chair of BlackRock Latin
American Investment Trust plc and a
director of M&G Securities Limited and
Investment Trustee and Adviser Limited.
Carolan was previously head of UK
equities at Abbey Asset Managers, Head
of Investment Trusts at Murray Johnstone
and was the portfolio manager of two
investment trusts.
Experience:
Carolan is an experienced fund manager
and has held key roles in the investment
management industry and in advisory
roles and she chairs both investment
trusts and other organisations.
Reasons for the recommendation
for re-election:
Carolan’s wise and effective leadership
of the board and wide knowledge and
experience of the industry.
Elizabeth Field MA
Joined the board in December 2022.
Elizabeth recently retired as a partner
at Stephenson Harwood. Elizabeth
was a corporate lawyer for 35 years
with extensive experience of advising
public and private companies on a wide
range of corporate transactions across
a variety of sectors, specifically including
investment trusts.
Experience:
Elizabeth is a lawyer and has experience
of providing legal and corporate
governance advice to investment
trusts, asset managers and investment
trust sponsors.
Reasons for the recommendation
for re-election:
Elizabeth’s legal knowledge and
negotiating skills are valuable to the
board and she has wide knowledge of
the industry.
Directors, Manager and advisers
*
Independent on appointment as Chair.
Chair of the Audit Committee
Board Chair. Chair of the Management
Engagement Committee and the
Nomination Committee
59
Andrew Hutton MA, CFA
Joined the board in April 2020. He is
owner and director of A.J.Hutton Ltd, an
investment advisory practice established
in 2007. Andrew started his career in
1979 at J.P. Morgan where, over 18
years, he held investment and business
management positions in London,
New York, Singapore and Australia. He
was subsequently head of investment
management at Coutts Group and co-
CEO of RBS Asset Management. Andrew
has served as Senior Independent
Director of Baillie Gifford UK Growth
Fund and Chairman of JPMorgan Global
Emerging Markets Income Trust.
Experience:
Andrew is an asset management
professional with senior management
and money management experience.
Reasons for the recommendation
for re-election:
Andrew brings to the board a
deep understanding of portfolio
management.
Jim Sharp MA
Joined the board in January 2014. He
began his career in corporate finance
with J.Henry Schroder & Co. Limited from
1992 to 2002 where he was a director.
He is Chair of The Cotswold Company
and Monica Vinader.
Experience:
Jim has a background in financial
services and in addition to experience
in running businesses and insight into
marketing and promotion he brings
a connection to the largest group
of shareholders.
Reasons for the recommendation
for re-election:
Jim’s broad commercial and operational
experience and knowledge and
understanding of marketing and
promotion are valuable and his
connection to a key stakeholder helps
the board’s understanding of the
requirements of shareholders.
Senior Independent Director, Chair of
the Remuneration Committee.
Committee memberships
All directors are non-executive and
independent of the manager.
All directors are members of the
Management Engagement Committee
and the Nomination Committee.
All directors, with the exception of the
Chair, Carolan Dobson, and Jim Sharp,
are members of the Audit Committee.
All directors, with the exception
of Jim Sharp, are members of the
Remuneration Committee.
Further details can be found on
page 67.
GOVERNANCE
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
60
The Manager or Alternative
Investment Fund
Manager (AIFM)
Allianz Global Investors UK Limited
(AllianzGI UK) is incorporated in the
UK and its registered office is at 199
Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3TY. It is
authorised by the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA).
Allianz Global Investors GmbH
(AllianzGI) is an active asset manager
operating across nineteen markets
with specialised in-house research
teams around the globe, managing
assets for individuals, families and
institutions worldwide.
As at 30 September 2024, AllianzGI
had €560 billion of assets under
management worldwide.
Through its predecessors, AllianzGI
has a heritage of investment trust
management expertise in the UK
reaching back to the nineteenth century
and as at 31 December 2024 had £3.3
billion assets under management in a
range of investment trusts.
Website: allianzgi.co.uk
Head of Investment Trusts
Stephanie Carbonneil
Email: stephanie.carbonneil@
allianzgi.com
Investment Manager
Julian Bishop and Christian Schneider,
Co-Lead managers, representing
Allianz Global Investors UK Limited,
199 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3TY
(the manager).
Company Secretary and
Registered Office
Kirsten Salt ACG
199 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3TY
Telephone: 020 3246 7513
Email: kirsten.salt@allianzgi.com
Registered number
00226323
Bankers and Custodian
HSBC Bank plc
Depositary
HSBC Securities Services
Solicitors
Dickson Minto W.S.
Independent auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Registrars
MUFG Corporate Markets, formerly Link
Group (full details on page 106)
Stockbrokers
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
61
Directors’ Report
The directors present their Report which
incorporates the audited financial
statements for the year ended 30
November 2024.
Share capital
Details of the company’s share capital
are set out in Note 11 on page 95.
During the year 271,009 new ordinary
shares of 25p were issued to J.P. Morgan
Securities under the shareholder
authority granted at the AGM in 2024 for
a total consideration of £3,908,220, at an
average price of 1,459.68p.
Since the year end a further 283,991
ordinary shares of 25p were issued
to J.P. Morgan Securities for a total
consideration of £4,175,518, at an
average price of 1,448.5p.
A resolution to renew the authority
to issue new shares will be put to
shareholders at the AGM, together with
a resolution to renew the authority to
purchase shares for cancellation or
holding in treasury. The full text of the
resolutions is set out in the notice of
meeting on page 107.
Independent auditors
A resolution to approve
the re-appointment of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors
of the company will be proposed at the
annual general meeting, together with
a resolution authorising the directors to
determine the auditors’ remuneration.
Each of the directors at the date of
approval of this report confirms that:
1. so far as the director is aware, there
is no relevant audit information of
which the company’s auditors are
unaware; and
2. the director has taken all the steps
that he/she ought to have taken
as a director to make himself/
herself aware of any relevant audit
information and to establish that
the company’s auditors are aware of
that information.
This confirmation is given and should
be interpreted in accordance with
the provisions of section 418 of the
Companies Act 2006.
Related party transactions
During the financial year no transactions
with related parties have taken place
which would materially affect the
financial position or the performance of
the company.
Management contract and
management fee
The main expense of the company and
therefore the most significant element
of the ongoing charges is the investment
management fee and the board is keen
to ensure this fee remains competitive.
The manager’s performance under the
contract and the contract terms are
reviewed annually by the management
engagement committee. The
committee’s report is on page 68.
Under the Alternative Investment
Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD)
the company appointed AllianzGI
UK as the designated Alternative
Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) for
the company on the terms and subject
to the conditions of the management
and administration agreement between
the company and AllianzGI UK (the
management contract).
AllianzGI UK is authorised and regulated
by the Financial Conduct Authority with
its registered office at 199 Bishopsgate,
London EC2M 3TY.
The management contract provides
for a management fee based on
0.45% per annum of the value of the
company’s assets after the deduction
of current liabilities, short-term loans
with an initial duration of less than one
year and the value of the company’s
investments in any other funds managed
by the manager. The contract can be
terminated with six months’ notice.
Revenue
The revenue earnings attributable
to ordinary shareholders for the year
amounted to £11,685,745 or 27.37p
per share (2023: £11,251,047 or 26.35p
per share).
The first two quarterly dividends of
5.9p (£2,518,871) were paid during
the company’s financial year to 30
November 2024 and the board declared
a third quarterly dividend of 5.9p
(£2,518,871) per ordinary share which
was paid on 12 December 2024. The
board recommends a final dividend for
the year ended 30 November 2024 of
6.05p (£2,599,306), payable on 4 April
2025, making a total distribution for
the year of 23.75p per ordinary share.
The next quarterly dividend payment is
expected to be made in July 2025.
Invested funds
The market value of the company’s
investments at 30 November 2024
was £645m (2023: £553m). Sales of
investments during the year resulted
in net gains of £87.4m (2023: gains of
£32.2m). Provisions contained in the
Finance Act 2010 exempt approved
investment trusts from corporation tax
on their chargeable gains.
Details of the total return of the
company and the split between revenue
and capital returns are shown in the
Income Statement on page 84. The
revenue and capital split is explained
in more detail in the Statement of
Accounting Policies on page 88 under
‘Investment management fee and
administrative expenses’ and on page
91 under ‘Finance costs’.
The following disclosures are made in
accordance with Part 6 of Schedule 7 of
the Large and Medium sized Companies
and Groups (Accounts and Reports)
Regulations 2008.
Capital structure
The company’s capital structure is set out
in Note 11 on page 95.
Listing Rule 6.6.1R
There are no matters requiring disclosure
under this Rule, other than on share
capital which is set out above on
this page.
GOVERNANCE
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
62
Voting rights in the company’s shares
As at 12 February 2025, the company’s capital consisted of:
Share class
Number of
shares issued
Voting rights
per share
Total
voting rights
Ordinary shares of 25p 43,247,727 1 43,247,727
5% Cumulative preference shares of £1 450,000 0 0
Total 43,697,727 43,247,727
Common Reporting
Standards (CRS)
CRS is a global standard for the
automatic exchange of information
commissioned by the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and
Development and incorporated into UK
law by the International Tax Compliance
Regulations 2015. CRS requires the
company to provide certain additional
details to HMRC in relation to UK
resident foreign investment holders.
The reporting obligation began in 2016
and will be an annual requirement
going forward. The Registrars, MUFG
Corporate Markets, formerly Link Group,
have been engaged to collate such
information and file the reports with
HMRC on behalf of the company.
Interests in the company’s
share capital
As at 12 February 2025, the company
was aware of the following interests in
the company’s share capital greater
than 3%:
J Maitland (as trustee 14.05%); Sir Hugo
Brunner (beneficial 2.30% – as trustee
10.10)%; TBH Brunner (beneficial
0.36% – as trustee 5.93%); and
Rathbones Investment Management
Limited (3.08%).
J Maitland acts as a co-trustee with TBH
Brunner in respect of 1,695,680 ordinary
shares (3.95%), which form part of TBH
Brunner’s trustee holding. J Maitland
also acts as co-trustee with Sir Hugo
Brunner in respect of 4,341,288 ordinary
shares (10.10%) which form part of Sir
Hugo Brunner’s trustee holdings.
Internal control
The directors have overall responsibility
for the company’s system of internal
control. Whilst acknowledging their
responsibility for the system of internal
control, the directors are aware that
such a system is designed to manage
rather than eliminate the risk of failure
to achieve business objectives and
can provide only reasonable but not
absolute assurance against material
misstatement or loss.
The board has established an ongoing
process for identifying, evaluating and
managing the significant risks faced
by the company. This process has been
fully in place throughout the year under
review and up to the date of the signing
of this Annual Report.
The key elements of the process are
as follows:
– In addition to the review of the
principal risks (see pages 18 to
21), the directors regularly review
all the risks on the Internal Risk Matrix
and every six months the board
receives from the manager a formal
report which details any known
internal controls failures, including
those that are not directly the
responsibility of the manager.
– Allianz Global Investors UK Limited
(AllianzGI UK), as the appointed
manager, provides investment
management, accounting and
company secretarial services to the
company. The manager therefore
maintains the internal controls
associated with the day-to-day
operation of the company. These
responsibilities are included in the
Management and Administration
Agreement between the company and
the manager. The manager’s systems
of internal control are regularly
evaluated by its management and
monitored by internal auditors.
– There is a regular review by the
board of asset allocation and any risk
implications. There are also regular
and comprehensive reviews by the
board of management accounting
information, including revenue and
expenditure projections, actual
revenue against projections and
performance comparisons.
– Authorisation and exposure limits are
set and maintained by the board.
– The board meets with senior
representatives of AllianzGI and
also receives an Internal Controls
Report from the manager, together
with a report on compliance with the
manager’s anti-bribery policy.
– The audit committee on behalf
of the board reviews the Internal
Controls Reports of other third party
service providers, including those of
AllianzGI and all other providers of
administrative and custodian services
to AllianzGI or directly to the company.
The directors confirm that the
audit committee has reviewed
the effectiveness of the system of
internal control, which it has found to
be appropriate.
Accountability and Audit
The Statement of Directors’
Responsibilities in respect of the financial
statements is on page 76 and a
statement of going concern is on page
22. The Independent Auditors’ Report
can be found on page 78.
The UK Stewardship Code and
exercise of voting powers
The board has delegated the exercise
of voting powers on its behalf to
discharge its responsibilities in respect
of investments, including the exercise
of voting powers on its behalf to the
manager, AllianzGI, and receives regular
reports on voting activity. There is more
information on company engagement
in the Strategic Report starting on page
11, and in the Investment Manager’s
Review on page 43.
Sustainability
disclosure requirements
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
has introduced a sustainability disclosure
requirements and investment labels
regime (SDR) to address concerns about
misleading environmental claims. The
63
SDR has several dimensions, including
an ‘anti-greenwashing’ rule, designed
to increase trust and confidence in the
sustainable investment market and to
combat providers exploiting demand
for sustainable products by making
unsupported environmental claims.
The company’s website https://www.
brunner.co.uk/en-gb/about-us/esg notes
that Brunner’s investment process only
includes consideration of ESG factors,
not Socially Responsible Investment
(SRI) (i.e., building sustainable portfolios
by delivering sustainable financial
returns based on the assessment of
ESG practices) nor impact aspects (i.e.,
promoting social and environmental
goals and/or/outcomes alongside
financial returns).
TCFD
The board continues to look at the
carbon footprint of the portfolio which
is reported in the monthly factsheets.
Whereas as an investment company we
do not report following the requirements
of the Task Force on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures (TCFD) we take an
interest in how the portfolio compares
against available indexed data. On
page 44 we look at various ESG MSCI
performance metrics against those of
the benchmark.
In accordance with the requirements
of the TCFD, AllianzGI UK as AIFM is
preparing a product level report for
the company. The TCFD report for the
company is available on the company’s
website brunner.co.uk.
Greenhouse gas emissions
As an investment company, the
company’s own direct environmental
impact is minimal. The company has
no greenhouse gas emissions to report
from its operations, not does it have
responsibility for any other emissions
producing sources under the Companies
Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’
Reports) Regulations 2013. For the
same reasons, the company considers
itself to be a low energy user under the
Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting
(‘SECR’) regulations and therefore is not
required to disclose energy and carbon
information.
Modern Slavery Act 2015
The company does not provide goods or
services in the normal course of business,
and as a financial investment vehicle
does not have customers. The directors
therefore consider that the company is
not required to make a statement under
the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in relation
to slavery or human trafficking.
Bribery Act 2010
The board has a zero tolerance policy in
relation to bribery and corruption and
has received assurance through internal
controls reporting from the company’s
main third party service providers that
adequate safeguards are in place to
protect against any such potentially
illegal behaviour by employees
or agents.
Annual General Meeting business
Directors’ Re-election
The plans for board succession, including
the arrangements for the retirements
of the directors with over nine years’
service, are described on page 69.
Carolan Dobson, Amanda Aldridge,
Elizabeth Field, Andrew Hutton and
Jim Sharp each retire in accordance
with the board policy on the annual
re-election of directors and offer
themselves for re-election at the AGM
in 2025. Biographical details of the
directors are on page 58 together
with the reasons why the board supports
and recommends their re-election.
Directors serving during the year and
their interests in the share capital of the
company as at 30 November 2024 are
set out in the Directors’ Remuneration
Report on page 70.
The board’s view is that each director
who is retiring and offering themselves
to be re-elected at the AGM continues
to make a valuable and effective
contribution and remains committed in
the role. The board has also considered
the number of boards on which
each director sits and the other time
commitments for each board member
and is satisfied that each director has
the capacity to devote all the time and
attention needed to fulfil their role and
duties to the company.
Allotment of new shares
A resolution authorising the directors
to allot new share capital for cash was
passed at the annual general meeting of
the company on 25 March 2024 under
section 551 of the Companies Act 2006.
The current authority will expire on 24
June 2025 and approval is therefore
sought for the renewal of this authority,
which will last until the conclusion of the
annual general meeting in 2026 or 1 July
2026 if earlier.
This authority is limited to a maximum
number of 14,401,493 ordinary shares,
representing approximately one third of
the existing ordinary share capital of the
company as at the date of this report,
provided that there is no change in the
issued share capital between the date
of this report and the annual general
meeting to be held on 2 April 2025.
Disapplication of pre-emption rights
A resolution was passed at the annual
general meeting of the company held
on 25 March 2024 under section 570 of
the Companies Act 2006, to authorise
the directors to allot ordinary shares
for cash other than pro rata to existing
shareholders. The current authority will
expire on 24 June 2025 and approval
is therefore sought for the renewal
of this authority, which will last until
the conclusion of the annual general
meeting in 2026 or 2 July 2026 if earlier.
This authority is limited to a maximum
number of 4,324,772 ordinary shares,
representing approximately 10% of the
existing ordinary share capital of the
company as at the date of this report,
provided that there is no change in the
issued share capital between the date
of this report and the annual general
meeting to be held on 2 April 2025.
Accordingly resolution 11 as set out in
the notice of meeting on page 115 will
be proposed as an ordinary resolution
and resolution 12 will be proposed as a
special resolution.
The directors do not currently intend to
allot shares under these authorities other
than to take advantage of opportunities
in the market as they arise and only if
they believe it would be advantageous
to the company’s existing shareholders
to do so. The directors confirm that no
allotments of new shares will be made
unless the lowest market offer price of
the ordinary shares is at least equal to or
at a premium to Net Asset Value.
Share buy back programme
The board is proposing the renewal
of the company’s authority under
section 701 of the Companies Act 2006,
to purchase ordinary shares in the
market for cancellation. In addition to
renewing its powers to buy back shares
for cancellation, the board will seek
shareholder authority to repurchase
GOVERNANCE
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
64
shares for holding in treasury for sale
and reissue at a later date.
This authority will give the company the
ability to reissue treasury shares quickly
and cost-effectively (including pursuant
to the authority under resolution 12, see
above) and provides the company with
additional flexibility in the management
of its capital base. Such shares may be
resold for cash but all rights attaching
to them, including voting rights and any
right to receive dividends are suspended
whilst they are in the treasury. If the
board exercises the authority conferred
by resolution 13, which will be proposed
as a special resolution, the company
will have the option of either holding in
treasury or of cancelling any of its shares
purchased pursuant to this authority and
will decide at the time of purchase which
option to pursue.
The board believes that such purchases
in the market at appropriate times
and prices may be a suitable method
of enhancing shareholder value. The
company would make either a single
purchase or a series of purchases, when
market conditions are suitable, with
the aim of maximising the benefits to
shareholders and within guidelines
set from time to time by the board.
Additionally, the board believes that the
company’s ability to purchase its own
shares should create additional demand
for the ordinary shares in the market
and that this should assist shareholders
wishing to sell their ordinary shares.
Where purchases are made at prices
below the prevailing Net Asset Value of
the ordinary shares, Net Asset Value per
share for the remaining shareholders
is enhanced. It is therefore intended
that purchases will only be made at
prices below Net Asset Value, with the
purchases to be funded from the realised
capital profits of the company (which
are currently in excess of £578 million).
The rules of the UK Listing Authority
limit the price which may be paid by the
company to 105% of the average middle
market quotation for an ordinary share
on the five business days immediately
preceding the date of the relevant
purchase. The minimum price to be paid
will be 25p per ordinary share (being the
nominal value).
Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s
Listing Rules, a company is permitted
to purchase up to 14.99% of its equity
share capital through market purchases
pursuant to a general authority granted
by shareholders
in general meeting.
The current authority which permits
the company to purchase up to 14.99%
of the ordinary shares, expires at the
conclusion of the forthcoming annual
general meeting. The board believes
that the company should continue
to have authority to make market
purchases of its own ordinary shares
for cancellation or additionally for
holding in treasury. Accordingly, a special
resolution to authorise the company to
make market purchases of up to 14.99%
of the company’s issued ordinary share
capital will be proposed. Provided there
is no change in the issued share capital
between the date of this report and the
annual general meeting to be held on 2
April 2025 such authority is equivalent to
6,482,834 ordinary shares.
The authority will last until the annual
general meeting of the company to
be held in 2026 or until 2 July 2026,
whichever is the earlier. The authority will
be subject to renewal by shareholders at
subsequent annual general meetings.
The Brunner family
Since the establishment of the company
in 1927, various members of the
extended Brunner family have held
shares in the company. Jim Sharp,
director, is connected by marriage to the
Brunner family.
Following discussions in 2013,
agreement was reached with the
Takeover Panel that for the purposes
of the City Code on Takeovers and
Mergers (the Code), Sir Hugo Brunner
and Mr TBH Brunner, together with their
children (and their spouses) and related
trusts (the Connected Parties) will be
treated as acting in concert for the
purposes of the Code. The Connected
Parties currently hold 9,576,819 shares,
representing 22.29% of the ordinary
share capital of the company. If the
proposed buy back authority were to be
used in full, the repurchase of ordinary
shares could result in the Connected
Parties holding 26.39% of the reduced
ordinary share capital of the company
(assuming that the Connected Parties
did not sell any ordinary shares in
connection with the exercise of the buy
back authority).
The board and the Annual Report
Following the process reported in the
Audit Committee Report, on page
73, the board is able to state that
it considers that the Annual Report,
taken as a whole, is fair, balanced
and understandable.
By order of the board
Kirsten Salt
Company Secretary
12 February 2025
65
Statement of the Depositary’s
Responsibilities in Respect
of The Brunner Investment
Trust PLC provided by HSBC
Securities Services, depositary to
the company.
‘The Depositary must ensure that the
company is managed in accordance
with the Financial Conduct Authority’s
Investment Funds Sourcebook, (the
Sourcebook), the Alternative Investment
Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD)
(together the Regulations) and the
company’s Articles of Association.
The Depositary must in the context of its
role act honestly, fairly, professionally,
independently and in the interests of the
company and its investors.
The Depositary is responsible for
the safekeeping of the assets of
the company in accordance with
the Regulations.
The Depositary must ensure that:
– the company’s cash flows are
properly monitored and that cash
of the company is booked into the
cash accounts in accordance with
the Regulations;
– the sale, issue, repurchase, redemption
and cancellation of shares are
carried out in accordance with
the Regulations;
– the assets under management
and the Net Asset Value per share
of the company are calculated in
accordance with the Regulations;
– any consideration relating to
transactions in the company’s assets
is remitted to the company within the
usual time limits;
– that the company’s income is
applied in accordance with the
Regulations; and
– the instructions of the Alternative
Investment Fund Manager (the AIFM)
are carried out (unless they conflict
with the Regulations).
The Depositary also has a duty to take
reasonable care to ensure that the
company is managed in accordance
with the Articles of Association in relation
to the investment and borrowing powers
applicable to the company.
Report of the Depositary to the
Shareholders of The Brunner
Investment Trust PLC (the company) for
the year ended 30 November 2024.
Having carried out such procedures
as we consider necessary to discharge
our responsibilities as Depositary of
the company, it is our opinion, based
on the information available to us and
the explanations provided, that in all
material respects the company, acting
through the AIFM has been managed
in accordance with the rules in the
Sourcebook, the Articles of Association
of the company and as required by
the AIFMD.’
HSBC Securities Services
13 December 2024
Further information about the
relationship with the Depositary is on
page 104.
GOVERNANCE
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
The board reports against the AIC Code
of Corporate Governance (AIC Code)
2019. As confirmed by the Financial
Reporting Council, following the AIC
Corporate Governance Guide enables
investment company boards to meet
their obligations under the UK Corporate
Governance Code and Listing Rules.
Board composition
There are five directors on the board.
We aim to have two investment
professionals, an accountant, a lawyer
and a director with commercial expertise,
one of which preferably has a connection
with the Brunner family, to provide a
balanced board. The optimum number of
directors is therefore five, but the number
could fall to four and go as high as six to
cover periods of recruitment, transition
and retirement.
The board has a plan for the retirement
of directors to ensure that an orderly
process of recruitment can take place
and that the board’s balance of skills and
relevant experience is maintained. This
may mean that directors might be on
the board for longer than nine years to
allow for continuity of experience and a
smooth transition.
The biographies of the directors are set
out on pages 58 and 59 together
with the skills and experience each
director brings to the board for the long-
term sustainable success of the company.
No contracts of significance in which
directors are deemed to have been
interested have subsisted during the year
under review. Contracts of employment
are not entered into with the directors,
who hold office in accordance with the
company’s Articles of Association.
Board evaluation
The board and its committees were
subject to an internally facilitated
performance appraisal during the course
of the year. This was conducted by means
of a detailed questionnaire and the
responses were collated into a report in
which the respondents were anonymous.
The Chair conducted the evaluation and
it was found that the board is effective
and that each director continues to be
effective, has the appropriate skills and
has demonstrated commitment and
devoted the necessary time to his or her
role. All directors attended all board and
relevant committee meetings during the
year. The directors all provide challenge
in board meetings and each offers
useful guidance from their own areas
of expertise.
The Senior Independent Director
conducted an appraisal of the Chair
following a similar method to the board
evaluation. This exercise confirmed
that the Chair demonstrates effective
leadership, makes an excellent
contribution to the company and is
assiduous in her engagements with the
company’s stakeholders.
Gender and ethnic diversity
The board is supportive of the FCA’s
Listing Rules (LR 6.6.6) to encourage
greater diversity on listed company
boards and has implemented the FCA’s
disclosure requirements. The board
recognises the importance of having a
range of skilled, experienced individuals
with the right knowledge represented
on the board. The board will continue
to ensure that all appointments are
made on the basis of merit against
the specification prepared for
each appointment.
The board has chosen to align its
diversity reporting reference date with
the company’s financial year end and
proposes to maintain this alignment for
future reporting periods. The company
has met one of the targets on board
diversity as at its chosen reference date,
30 November 2024 as at least 40% of
the individuals on its board of directors
are women. The board did not at the
reference date and does not at the date
of this report have any directors from
a minority ethnic background. Further
details on the company’s appointment
process can be found under Board
Composition, above, and Succession on
page 69. As required under LR 6.6.6,
further detail in respect of the targets
outlined above as at 30 November
2024 and as at date that the Annual
Report was approved is disclosed in the
tables below.
As an externally managed investment
company, the company has no executive
directors, employees or internal
operations. Therefore, columns relating
to executive management have been
removed from the tables below.
Corporate Governance Statement
Number of
Board members
Percentage
of the Board
Number of Senior
Positions on the
Board*
Gender
Men 2 40% 1
Women 3 60% 1
Other - - -
Not specified/prefer not to say - - -
Ethnicity
White British or other white background 5 100% 2
Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups - - -
Asian/Asian British - - -
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British - - -
Other ethnic group, including Arab - - -
Not specified/prefer not to say - - -
* The company only has two of the senior roles specified by the Listing Rules, that is the
position of chair and SID. One of these roles is occupied by a man and one by a woman.
The roles of chief executive and chief financial officer are not applicable to the company,
However, the company considers that the chair of the audit committee, nomination
committee and remuneration committee is a senior position. Of these three senior roles,
two are performed by a woman and one by a man.
66
Conflicts of Interest
Under the Companies Act 2006 directors
must avoid a situation where they have,
or can have, a direct or indirect interest
that conflicts, or possibly may conflict,
with the company’s interests. The board
reports annually on the company’s
procedures for ensuring that its powers
of authorisation of conflicts are operated
effectively and that the procedures have
been followed.
Each of the directors has provided a
statement of all conflicts of interest and
potential conflicts of interest relating to
the company. These statements have
been considered and approved by the
board. The directors have undertaken to
notify the Chair and Company Secretary
of any proposed new appointments and
new conflicts or potential conflicts for
consideration, if necessary, by the board.
The board has agreed that only directors
who have no interest in the matter being
considered will be able to participate in
taking the relevant decision and that in
taking the decision the directors will act
in a way they consider, in good faith, will
be most likely to promote the company’s
success. The board can impose limits or
conditions when giving authorisation if
it thinks this is appropriate. For example,
a director with a potential conflict might
be asked to step out of the meeting
room or will be permitted to remain
in the room but not participate in the
discussion or take part in a vote on a
course of action.
The board confirms that its powers of
authorisation are operating effectively
and that the agreed procedures have
been followed.
Directors’ indemnities
Directors’ and Officers’ liability insurance
cover is held by the company and was in
place for the whole of the financial year.
As permitted by the company’s Articles
of Association, the company has granted
indemnities to the directors.
Board committees
Audit committee
The Audit Committee Report is on
page 73.
Nomination committee
The nomination committee meets
as needed – at least once each year
– and makes recommendations on
board succession planning and the
appointment of new directors and
considers the composition and balance
of the board. The committee is chaired
by Carolan Dobson, the Chair of the
board, and met once in the last year
when it considered the re-election of
directors at the annual general meeting
and the plans for new recruitment
to the board. The members of the
committee met separately under the
leadership of the Senior Independent
Director to review the tenure of the
Chair and consider the plans for
succession. All directors serve on the
nomination committee and consider
nominations made in accordance with
an agreed procedure.
It is the board’s policy to use external
agencies to draw up lists of candidates
as part of the recruitment of new
directors. The brief to the recruitment
consultant includes the request that the
shortlist should include a diverse range
of candidates.
The Nomination Committee Report is on
page 69.
Management
engagement committee
The management engagement
committee met once in the year
to review the Management and
Administration Agreement and the
manager’s performance and a report
of management fees. It has defined
terms of reference and consists of all
the directors. It is chaired by Carolan
Dobson, the Chair of the board.
The Management Engagement
Committee Report is on page 68.
Remuneration committee
The remuneration committee met
once in the year and consists of all the
directors. The committee is chaired
by Andrew Hutton. The committee
determines the company’s remuneration
policy and determines the remuneration
of each director within the terms of that
policy. The Directors’ Remuneration
Report is on page 70.
The terms of reference for each of
the committees may be viewed by
shareholders on request and are
published on the company’s website
brunner.co.uk in the Information/Legal
Documents section.
Board attendance
Attendance by the directors at formal board and committee meetings during the year was as follows:
Director Board
Board
strategy
day
Audit
committee
Remuneration
committee
Nomination
committee
Management
engagement
committee
No. of meetings 6 1 2 1 1 1
Carolan Dobson 6 1 2
1
1 1 1
Amanda Aldridge 6 1 2 1 1 1
Elizabeth Field 6 1 2 1 1 1
Andrew Hutton 6 1 2 1 1 1
Jim Sharp 6 1 2
1
1
1
1 1
1
Invited to attend meetings, although not a committee member.
67
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68
Management Engagement Committee Report
Role of the committee
The Management Engagement
Committee reviews the investment
management agreement and monitors
the performance of the Manager for
the investment, secretarial, financial,
administration, marketing and support
services that it provides under that
agreement. It also reviews the terms of
the agreement including the level and
structure of fees payable, the length
of notice period and best practice
provisions generally.
Composition of the committee
All the directors are members of the
committee. Its terms of reference can be
found on the website at brunner.co.uk.
Manager evaluation process
The committee met once during the year
for the purpose of the formal evaluation
of the manager’s performance.
For the purposes of its ongoing
monitoring, the board receives
detailed reports and views from the
portfolio manager on investment
policy and strategies, asset allocation,
stock selection, attributions, portfolio
characteristics, gearing and risk. The
board also assesses the manager’s
performance against the investment
controls set by the board.
The manager also reported to the
board on its succession plans for the key
individuals, including the members of the
portfolio management team.
Performance information is set out on
page 9.
AIFM
Details of the current AIFM, Allianz
Global Investors UK Limited (‘AllianzGI
UK’), are on page 104.
AllianzGI UK is authorised and regulated
by the Financial Conduct Authority with
its registered office at 199 Bishopsgate,
London EC2M 3TY.
Manager reappointment
The annual evaluation that took place in
December 2024 included a presentation
from the portfolio managers and
AllianzGI’s Head of Investment Trusts.
This covered the work done with the
board on the provision of investment
and support services, including the
promotion and distribution of the
trust, succession planning and the
ambitions for 2025; the reporting of
the ESG strategy; the dividend strategy;
the investment strategy; and the sales
and marketing activity, covering the
work with investment platforms and
wealth managers. The evaluation also
considered the manager’s fee in relation
to the peer group. The committee
met in a private session following the
presentation and concluded that in its
opinion the continuing appointment of
the manager on the terms agreed was in
the interests of shareholders as a whole
and recommended this to the board.
Note 2 to the Financial Statements on
page 90 provides detailed information
in relation to the management fee.
Committee evaluation
The activities of the Management
Engagement committee were
considered as part of the board
evaluation process completed in
accordance with standard governance
arrangements as summarised on page
66. The conclusion from the process
was that the committee was operating
effectively, with the right balance of
membership and skills.
Carolan Dobson
Management engagement
committee Chair
12 February 2025
69
Nomination Committee Report
Role of the committee
The Nomination Committee leads the
process for board appointments and
makes nomination recommendations
to the board. The committee reviews
and makes recommendations on board
structure, size and composition, the
balance of knowledge, experience,
skill ranges and diversity and considers
succession planning and tenure policy.
Composition of the committee
All directors are members of the
committee and its terms of reference can
be found on the website at brunner.co.uk
Activities of the committee
The committee met during the year
and considered, in accordance with its
terms of reference the structure, size
and composition of the board and
satisfied itself with regard to succession
planning, making recommendations to
the board. The committee reviewed the
succession plan, as mentioned below,
and recommended it to the board.
The committee also discussed the
results of the board and committee
evaluation exercise, which covered the
structure and size of the board and its
composition, particularly in terms of
succession planning, and the experience
and skills of the individual directors and
the topic of board diversity and inclusion.
The AIC guidelines on directors serving
on the board for more than nine years
are considered in the evaluation of the
individual skills and contributions of the
directors. The table on page 66 shows
the current board composition.
Succession
Succession planning is considered
regularly by the committee.
The members of the committee met
separately under the leadership of the
Senior Independent Director to review
the tenure of the Chair and consider the
plans for succession. Notwithstanding
her length of service on the board,
the directors are unanimously agreed
that Carolan Dobson continues to be
independent and remains a highly
effective Chair with strong leadership
of the board. Taking this into account
and as the board has a majority of
independent directors, it was agreed
that Carolan Dobson’s tenure as the
Chair of the board should continue for a
further two years.
There is a plan in place to recruit a new
director in advance of the Chair stepping
down and it has been agreed that an
externally facilitated evaluation of the
Chair, the board, the individual directors
and committees will be conducted
during 2025 in which there will be a brief
to consider this succession plan in detail.
Committee evaluation
The activities of the Nomination
Committee were considered as part of
the board evaluation process completed
in accordance with standard governance
arrangements as summarised on page
66. The conclusion from the process
was that the committee was operating
effectively, with the right balance of
membership and skills.
Carolan Dobson
Nomination committee Chair
12 February 2025
GOVERNANCE
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
70
Remuneration Committee Report
Composition
All the directors are members of the committee and its terms of reference can be
found on the website at brunner.co.uk.
Role
The Remuneration Committee leads the process for fixing directors’ remuneration
and makes recommendations to the board.
Activities
The committee’s activities are set out in the report from the committee which follows.
Directors’ Remuneration Report
This is the Directors’ Remuneration Report for the year. The report is submitted in
accordance with Schedule 8 of the Large and Medium sized Companies and Groups
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, as amended August 2013, for the year
ended 30 November 2024.
An ordinary resolution for the approval of the Directors’ Remuneration Policy Report
was first put to a binding shareholder vote at the annual general meeting in 2014
and was placed before shareholders for approval at the AGM in 2023. The results of
the vote at the 2023 AGM for this resolution were as follows: In favour 99.85%, against
0.15% and 136,291 shares were withheld (in aggregate, 14,567,534 votes). It will next
be put to shareholders at the AGM in 2026.
The Directors’ Remuneration Implementation Report is to be put to the AGM,
annually, as an advisory shareholder vote. The results of the advisory vote at the
2024 AGM for the resolution to approve the Implementation Report were as follows:
In favour 99.82%, against 0.18% and 34,254 shares were noted as votes withheld (in
aggregate 13,987,411 votes).
The information provided in this part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report is not
subject to audit unless specified below.
The Board
The board of directors is composed solely of non-executive directors. The
determination of the directors’ fees is guided by the remuneration policy (see below)
and the recommendations of the remuneration committee which is made up of the
independent directors and is chaired by Andrew Hutton.
Directors’ interests (audited)
The directors are required to hold 4,000 shares in the company under the company’s
Articles. Pursuant to Article 19 of the EU Market Abuse Regulations the directors’
interests in the share capital of the company are shown in the table below.
Ordinary shares of 25p
2024
beneficial
2024
non-beneficial
2023
beneficial
2023
non-beneficial
Carolan Dobson 4,750 - 4,750 -
Amanda Aldridge 4,000 - 4,000 -
Elizabeth Field 4,000 - 4,000 -
Andrew Hutton 6,000 - 6,000 -
Peter Maynard
1
N/A - 4,000 -
Jim Sharp 131,814 651,956 124,799 651,956
1
Retired 31 March 2023.
As chair of the
remuneration committee,
I am pleased to present
the committee’s report
for year ended 30
November 2024.
71
Directors retire and offer themselves for re-election annually. No director has a service contract with the company. The company’s
policy is for the directors to be remunerated in the form of fees, payable quarterly in arrears. In accordance with the AIC Code of
Corporate Governance, there are no long term incentive schemes and fees are not related to the individual director’s performance,
nor to the performance of the board as a whole. No exit payments are made when a director leaves the board.
Directors’ remuneration policy
The board’s policy, subject to the overall limit in the Articles, is to determine the level of directors’ fees having regard to the level of
fees payable to non-executive directors in the investment trust industry generally, the rate of inflation, the increasing requirements
in the nature of the role that individual directors fulfil, and the time committed to the company’s affairs. These requirements are
particularly relevant to the Chair and the Chair of the audit committee. The board believes that levels of remuneration should
be sufficient to attract and retain non-executive directors with the relevant experience and skills to oversee the company. The
company’s Articles currently limit the aggregate fees payable to the board of directors to a total of £300,000 per annum.
The company’s Articles also provide that additional discretionary payments can be made for services which in the opinion of the
directors are outside the scope of the ordinary duties of a director. Directors are entitled to be reimbursed for any reasonable
expenses properly incurred by them in connection with the performance of their duties and attendance at meetings. Directors
are not eligible for bonuses, pension benefits, share options or other incentives or benefits. There are no agreements between the
company and its directors concerning compensation for loss of office.
This directors’ remuneration policy is the same in all material respects as that currently followed by the board and summarised in the
last Directors’ Remuneration Report and approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting held on 25 March 2024.
The company has no employees and consequently has no policy on the remuneration of employees.
The board will consider, where raised, shareholders’ views on directors’ remuneration.
Implementation Report
The policy is to review directors’ fee rates from time to time, but reviews will not necessarily result in a change to the rates. In the
year under review the directors were paid at a rate of £29,200 per annum and the Chair at a rate of £47,000 per annum, with an
additional £6,400 for the Chair of the audit committee, and an additional £2,100 for the Senior Independent Director. The current
fees have been effective since 1 December 2023.
The fees were reviewed during the year and the committee compared industry reports and other independent data. It was noted
that fees had fallen against the market. With further board recruitment planned it was agreed that it was important to make
relatively modest increases to remain competitive. It was determined that the following fees would apply with effect from 1
December 2024: Chair £50,000, directors £32,000, with an additional unchanged £6,400 to the Chair of the audit committee, and an
additional unchanged £2,100 for the Senior Independent Director.
Directors’ emoluments (audited)
The directors received directors’ fees and no other remuneration or additional discretionary payments during the year and
therefore the directors’ emoluments during the year and in the previous year are as follows:
2024
base salary
£
2024
taxable expenses
£
2024
total**
£
2023
base salary
£
2023
taxable expenses
£
2023
total**
£
Carolan Dobson 47,000 5,417 52,417 44,500 6,386 50,886
Amanda Aldridge 35,600 - 35,600 34,500 - 34,500
Elizabeth Field 29,200 - 29,200 28,100 - 28,100
Andrew Hutton 31,300 - 31,300 29,500 - 29,500
Peter Maynard* - - - 10,066 - 10,066
Jim Sharp 29,200 - 29,200 28,100 - 28,100
Total 172,300 5,417 177,717 174,766 6,386 181,152
* Retired from the board 31 March 2023.
** Taxable travel and subsistence expenses incurred in attending Board and Committee meetings, gross pre-tax amounts.
GOVERNANCE
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
72
2024
£
% change
2023 to
2024
2023
£
% change
2022 to
2023
2022
£
% change
2021 to
2022
2021
£
% change
2020 to
2021
2020
£
Base salary
Board Chair 47,000 5.6 44,500 6.0 42,000 7.7 39,000 0.0 39,000
Audit Chair 35,600 3.2 34,500 6.2 32,500 1.6 32,000 0.0 32,000
Senior Independent Director 31,300 3.6 30,200 6.0 28,500 1.8 28,000 0.0 28,000
Independent Director 29,200 3.9 28,100 6.0 26,500 1.9 26,000 0.0 26,000
Expenses
Carolan Dobson 5,417 -15.2 6,386 585.9 931 311.9 226 -94.3 3,935
Any increase in pay was effective from 1 December in any given year.
Analysis of pay against distributions
A table showing actual expenditure by the company on remuneration and distributions to shareholders for the year and the prior
year is below:
Expenditure by the company on remuneration and distributions to the shareholders
2024
£
2023
£
Remuneration paid to all directors 172,300 174,766
Distributions paid during the financial year 9,990,098 9,520,477
This disclosure is a statutory requirement. The directors, however, do not consider that the comparison of directors’ remuneration
with distributions to shareholders is a meaningful measure of the company’s overall performance.
Performance graph
The performance graph below measures the company’s share price and Net Asset Value performance on a total return basis
against the benchmark index: 70% FTSE World Ex UK Index and 30% FTSE All-Share Index. An explanation of the company’s
performance is given in the Chair’s Statement and the Investment Manager’s Review.
The Brunner Investment Trust PLC
30 November 2014 – 30 November 2024
Andrew Hutton
Remuneration committee Chair
12 February 2025
Share Price 242%
NAV debt at fair value 194%
Benchmark 174%
Source: AllianzGI/Thomson Reuters DataStream
Nov 14 Nov 15 Nov 16 Nov 17 Nov 18 Nov 19 Nov 20 Nov 21 Nov 22 Nov 23 Nov 24
350
300
250
200
150
100
%
73
Audit Committee Report
As chair of the audit
committee, I am
delighted to present
the committee’s report
for the year ended 30
November 2024.
Composition
Andrew Hutton and Elizabeth Field
served on the committee throughout
the year. The Chair of the board
and Jim Sharp are invited to attend
audit committee meetings, as are
representatives of the manager.
As you will see from my biography on
page 58, I am a Chartered Accountant
and until 2017, I was an audit and
advisory partner, at KPMG, London.
I also chair the audit committee of
two other listed companies. During
the year the board reviewed the
composition of the audit committee and
it considers that, collectively, its members
have sufficient recent and relevant
financial experience to discharge their
responsibilities fully.
Role
The principal role of the committee is
to assist the board in relation to the
reporting of financial information, review
of financial controls and management
of risk. The committee has defined
terms of reference and duties and the
terms of reference are published on
the company’s website, brunner.co.uk.
These include:
– responsibility for the review of the
Annual Report and the half-yearly
Financial Report;
– consideration of the nature and scope,
independence and effectiveness of
the external audit and of the auditors’
findings and recommendations; and
– review of the terms of appointment
of the auditors, including their
remuneration and the provision of any
non-audit services by them.
Activities
The committee meets twice each year.
These meetings are attended by the
auditors and also by representatives of
the manager, including both risk and
compliance officers. It is the practice of
the committee to meet with the auditor
without management present at least
once each year.
At the scheduled meetings in respect
of the year ended 30 November 2024
the committee reviewed the company’s
accounting policies and confirmed
their appropriateness and reviewed
in detail the annual and half-yearly
financial reports and in each case
recommended them for adoption by
the board. At the meeting for the half
year the auditors presented the audit
plan for the year ending 30 November
2024. In the meeting relating to the
year end the committee considered
the auditors’ report on the annual
financial statements.
At each meeting the committee received
a report on the operation of controls
relating to the company and the proper
conduct of its business in accordance
with the regulatory environment in which
both the company and the manager
operate. The committee has also
received reports from the company’s
service providers on their continuing
response to cyber security risks and
related business continuity updates.
Risk
Although the board has ultimate
responsibility for the management
of risk, the audit committee assists by
monitoring the formal reports from
the manager and third-party service
providers on risk and internal controls.
During the year the committee reviewed
the risk management framework and
concluded that existing processes were
adequate to ensure that its assessment
of risk is robust and of sufficient
frequency, namely carried out at each
committee meeting and twice annually
by the board as follows:
– A matrix of risks is reviewed at each
audit committee meeting. We consider
whether new risks should be added
or previously identified risks removed,
assess their likelihood of occurring and
potential scale, review the mitigating
actions and assess the residual risk
against what we regard as acceptable
– ‘risk appetite’. Economic and
political volatility, including continued
international conflict and tensions and
the outcome of the US presidential
election have all been considered by
the board in this review and discussed
by the board.
GOVERNANCE
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
74
– Assurance over mitigating actions in
relation to these risks is provided in
a series of reports from all the third
party service providers.
– Resulting from the work of the
audit committee, the principal risks
and uncertainties are identified
for disclosure and discussion in our
annual report. The committee also
assesses residual risks after controls
and mitigating actions have been
applied, and evaluates whether these
fall within our risk appetite. The risks
identified, together with mitigating
actions, and the results of the risk
appetite assessment are set out in the
Strategic Report on page 11.
Viability Statement
Taking into account this review of risk
the committee reviewed a paper that
supported the board’s conclusion, set out
on page 22 in the Strategic Report,
of their reasonable expectation that the
company is viable in the longer term,
assessed as the next five years.
The audit, its effectiveness and
the terms of appointment of
the auditor
The committee reviewed the terms of
appointment of the auditor, monitored
the audit process, assessed the auditors’
independence and objectivity as well as
the effectiveness of the audit process. It
was noted that there were no non-audit
services provided by the firm, and that
none are planned in the financial year to
30 November 2024.
This is PricewaterhouseCoopers’
seventh year as our auditor and under
current FRC guidance, the next audit
tender will be required in respect of the
year ending 30 November 2028. Until
then, we will continue to monitor the
auditor’s performance and make any
appropriate recommendations.
As part of our review of the performance
of the auditor, the members of the
committee and those representatives
of the manager involved in the audit
process reviewed and considered a
number of areas including:
– the reputation and standing of the
audit firm including annual reports
from the auditor’s regulator;
– the skills, experience and
specialist knowledge of the audit
team, particularly relating to
investment trusts;
– audit communication including
details of planning, information on
relevant accounting and regulatory
developments, and recommendations
on corporate reporting;
– the audit processes, evidence of
oversight by the audit lead; and
– the reasonableness of audit fees;
The committee sought comments from
representatives of the manager on the
provision of services by the auditor and
the effectiveness of the external audit for
the year ended 30 November 2024 and
considered whether the audit team as
a whole demonstrated an appropriate
level of challenge to the Board and the
manager in fulfilling their role.
Based on all of the above, the committee
concluded that we have no concerns
with the performance of the auditor and
has recommended to the board that a
resolution proposing the re-appointment
of the auditor is put to shareholders at
the annual general meeting.
Financial report and
significant Issues
The significant issues identified for
the review of the financial statements
this year, that is, those identified as
presenting the greatest risks, were
the valuation and existence of the
investments in the portfolio; and the
accuracy, occurrence and completeness
of dividend income. These and other
matters, identified as posing lesser risk,
were considered and discussed with the
manager and the auditor as part of the
year end process.
Valuation and existence of the
investments in the portfolio
Listed investments are valued using
stock exchange prices provided by third
party financial data vendors. Unlisted
investments are recognised on a fair
value basis and are reviewed by the
manager’s valuation committee before
being approved by the company and
being made available to the auditor. We
discussed the work done by the auditor
on valuation of investments and received
assurance that there were no concerns
regarding valuation of the investments.
The manager confirms to us the
existence and ownership of portfolio
investments. The manager receives
information from the custodian which
is reconciled with the portfolio list.
The auditor conducts an independent
verification exercise which was
satisfactorily concluded.
Based on this the committee concluded
that the valuation and existence of
the investments in the portfolio is
appropriately recorded in the annual
report and accounts,
Accuracy, occurrence and completeness
of dividend income
During the year, income reports and
forecasts are reviewed in detail with the
manager at each meeting of the board,
including yield information. Changes to
the forecast for each portfolio stock from
meeting to meeting are also scrutinised.
The auditor conducts an independent
analysis of the expected income stream
from the investment portfolio for the
year. We discussed the outcome of
this analysis and were satisfied based
on this and the dividend income was
appropriately recorded in the annual
report and accounts.
In addition we noted the manner in
which expenses are allocated between
capital and income and concluded that
the ratio of 70:30 remains appropriate
since it fairly reflects our investment
policy and split of prospective capital
and income returns. This area was
subject to a detailed review last year.
We also confirmed, as stated in the
Statement of Accounting Policies
on page 88, that there are no
judgements, estimates, and assumptions
about the carrying amounts of assets
and liabilities that are not readily
apparent from other sources.
The committee considered the audit
materiality and error reporting
thresholds in the audit plan and
confirmed that they were satisfied with
these. As in previous years, the auditor
set the materiality threshold as 1% of
Net Asset Value to align closely with
comparable companies, but continues
to report to the committee on matters
below that level on qualitative grounds.
The audit committee and the whole
board reviewed the entire annual
report and noted all of the supporting
information received. It then considered
whether the annual report satisfactorily
reflected a true picture of the company
and its activities and performance in
the year, with a clear link between the
relevant sections of the report and
concluded that it did so. The directors
75
were then able to confirm that the
annual report, taken as a whole, is fair,
balanced and understandable and
provides the information necessary for
shareholders to assess the company’s
performance, business model
and strategy.
Internal control and
internal audit
In July 2023, it was brought to the audit
committee’s attention that an issue had
arisen with the capital NAV calculated
by AllianzGI’s third party service provider
and reported to the market in the daily
NAV announcements. It was noted that
this did not impact the cum-income
NAV announced throughout the period
concerned, nor did it affect the half-year
financial statements which were being
considered at that time. Since then, the
manager, AllianzGI, has reported to the
board on the due diligence performed,
the corrective actions taken and the
plans now in place to prevent recurrence.
Service enhancements that resulted
from this included lower tolerance
thresholds for additional reporting of
daily NAV movements, quicker responses
to requests for information, a new
escalation protocol and service industry
benchmarking. The manager has
confirmed that it believes the service has
stabilised as these remediations have
taken effect.
The audit committee’s view continues to
be that the company does not require
an internal audit function of its own as
it delegates its day-to-day operations
to third parties from whom it receives
internal control assurance reports.
Reports from third party auditors on the
internal controls maintained on behalf
of the company by AllianzGI and by
other key providers of administrative and
custodian services to AllianzGI or directly
to the company were reviewed during
the year. No issues of concern relating to
the company were raised in the reports.
Whistleblowing
As the company has no employees
it does not have a formal policy
concerning the raising, in confidence,
of any concerns about improprieties for
appropriate independent investigation.
The audit committee has received
and noted the manager’s policy on
whistleblowing. Any matters concerning
the company should be raised with the
Chair or Senior Independent Director.
Amanda Aldridge
Audit committee Chair
12 February 2025
GOVERNANCE
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
76
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
in respect of the financial statements
The directors are responsible for
preparing the Annual Report and the
financial statements in accordance with
applicable law and regulation.
Company law requires the directors
to prepare financial statements for
each financial year. Under that law the
directors have prepared the financial
statements in accordance with United
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting
Practice (United Kingdom Accounting
Standards, comprising FRS 102 ‘The
Financial Reporting Standard applicable
in the UK and Republic of Ireland’, and
applicable law).
Under company law directors must not
approve the financial statements unless
they are satisfied that they give a true
and fair view of the state of affairs of the
company and of the profit or loss of the
company for that period. In preparing
these financial statements, the directors
are required to:
– select suitable accounting policies and
then apply them consistently;
– state whether applicable United
Kingdom Accounting Standards,
comprising FRS 102 have been
followed, subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained in
the financial statements;
– make judgements and accounting
estimates that are reasonable and
prudent; and
– prepare the financial statements on
the going concern basis unless it is
inappropriate to presume that the
company will continue in business.
The directors are responsible for
safeguarding the assets of the company
and hence for taking reasonable steps
for the prevention and detection of fraud
and other irregularities.
The directors are also responsible for
keeping adequate accounting records
that are sufficient to show and explain
the company’s transactions and disclose
with reasonable accuracy at any time
the financial position of the company
and enable them to ensure that the
financial statements and the Directors’
Remuneration Report comply with the
Companies Act 2006.
The directors are responsible for the
maintenance and integrity of the
company’s website. Legislation in
the United Kingdom governing the
preparation and dissemination of
financial statements may differ from
legislation in other jurisdictions.
Directors’ confirmations
Each of the directors, whose names
and functions are listed in Directors,
Manager and Advisers on pages 58
to 60, confirm that, to the best of
their knowledge:
– the company financial statements,
which have been prepared in
accordance with United Kingdom
Accounting Standards, comprising FRS
102, give a true and fair view of the
assets, liabilities, financial position and
profit of the company; and
– the Strategic Report includes a fair
review of the development and
performance of the business and the
position of the company, together with
a description of the principal risks and
uncertainties that it faces.
In the case of each director in office
at the date the directors’ report
is approved:
– so far as the director is aware, there
is no relevant audit information of
which the company’s auditors are
unaware; and
– they have taken all the steps that they
ought to have taken as a director in
order to make themselves aware of
any relevant audit information and to
establish that the company’s auditors
are aware of that information.
This responsibility statement was
approved by the board of directors on
12 February 2025 and signed on its
behalf by:
Carolan Dobson
Chair
77
Financial
Statements
78 Independent auditors’ report
84 Income Statement
85 Balance Sheet
86 Statement of Changes in Equity
87 Cash Flow Statement
88 Statement of Accounting Policies
90 Notes to the Financial Statements
77
New investment
Roper Technologies
develops mission-
critical, industry-specific
software. The company
is headquartered in
Sarasota, Florida, USA.
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
78
Independent auditors’ report to the members of
The Brunner Investment Trust PLC
Report on the audit of the financial statements
Opinion
In our opinion, The Brunner Investment Trust PLC’s financial statements:
– give a true and fair view of the state of the company’s affairs as at 30 November 2024 and of its profit and cash flows for the
year then ended;
– have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom
Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and
applicable law); and
– have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual Report, which comprise: the Balance Sheet as at 30
November 2024; the Income Statement, the Cash Flow Statement and the Statement of Changes in Equity for the year then
ended; the Statement of Accounting Policies; and the notes to the financial statements.
Our opinion is consistent with our reporting to the Audit Committee.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (‘ISAs (UK)’) and applicable law. Our
responsibilities under ISAs (UK) are further described in the auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
section of our report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for
our opinion.
Independence
We remained independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the
financial statements in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to listed public interest entities, and we
have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
To the best of our knowledge and belief, we declare that non-audit services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard were
not provided.
We have provided no non-audit services to the company in the period under audit.
Our audit approach
Overview
Audit scope
– The company is a standalone Investment Trust company and engages Allianz Global Investors UK Limited (the ‘Manager’) to
manage its assets.
– We conducted our audit of the financial statements using information from State Street Bank & Trust Company
(the ‘Administrator’) to whom the Manager has, with the consent of the directors, delegated the provision of certain
administrative functions.
– We tailored the scope of our audit taking into account the types of investments within the company, the involvement of the third
parties referred to above, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry in which the company operates.
– We obtained an understanding of the control environment in place at both the Manager and the Administrator and adopted a
fully substantive testing approach using information obtained from the Administrator.
Key audit matters
– Valuation and existence of investments
– Accuracy, occurrence and completeness of Income from investments
Materiality
– Overall materiality: £6,181,824 (2023: £5,282,098) based on 1% of Net Asset Value.
– Performance materiality: £4,636,368 (2023: £3,961,574).
The scope of our audit
As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the
financial statements.
79
Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit of the
financial statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not
due to fraud) identified by the auditors, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation
of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters, and any comments we make on the
results of our procedures thereon, were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming
our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit.
The key audit matters below are consistent with last year.
Key audit matter How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Valuation and existence of investments
The investment portfolio at the year-end comprised listed
equity investments valued at £644.7m.
We focused on the valuation and existence of investments
because investments represent the principal element of the
Net Asset Value as disclosed on the Balance Sheet in the
financial statements.
We tested the valuation of the listed equity investments by
agreeing the prices used in the valuation to independent
third party sources.
We tested the existence of the investment portfolio
by agreeing investment holdings to an independent
custodian confirmation.
We have no matters to report as a result of this testing.
Accuracy, occurrence and completeness of Income
from investments
Income from investments consists primarily of
dividend income.
We focused on the accuracy, occurrence and completeness
of investment income recognition as incomplete or
inaccurate income could have a material impact on the
company’s Net Asset Value and dividend cover.
We also focused on the accounting policy for investment
income recognition and its presentation in the Income
Statement for compliance with the requirements of
The Association of Investment Companies Statement
of Recommended Practice (the ‘AIC SORP’), as
incorrect application could indicate a misstatement in
income recognition.
We assessed the accounting policy for investment income
recognition for compliance with accounting standards
and the AIC SORP and performed testing to check that
income had been accounted for in accordance with this
stated accounting policy. We found that the accounting
policies implemented were in accordance with accounting
standards and the AIC SORP, and that income has
been accounted for in accordance with the stated
accounting policy.
We tested the accuracy of dividend income by agreeing
the dividend rates from investments to independent
market data.
To test for completeness, we tested that all dividends
declared in the market by investment holdings had
been recorded.
We tested occurrence by testing that all dividends
recorded in the year had been declared in the market by
investment holdings.
We also tested the allocation and presentation of dividend
income between the revenue and capital return columns
of the Income Statement in line with the requirements
set out in the AIC SORP by determining reasons behind
dividend distributions.
We have no matters to report as a result of this testing.
How we tailored the audit scope
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial
statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the company, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry
in which it operates.
All audit procedures were conducted by a UK audit team. We tested and examined information using sampling and other auditing
techniques, to the extent we considered necessary to provide a reasonable basis for us to form our own judgements.
The impact of climate risk on our audit
In planning our audit, we made enquiries of the directors and manager to understand the extent of the potential impact of climate
change on the company’s financial statements.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
80
The directors and investment manager concluded that the impact on the measurement and disclosures within the financial
statements is not material because the company’s investment portfolio is made up of Level 1 quoted securities which are valued at
fair value based on market prices. We found this to be consistent with our understanding of the company’s investment activities.
We also considered the consistency of the climate change disclosures included in the Strategic Report, Investment Manager’s
Review and Directors’ Report with the financial statements and our knowledge from our audit.
Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for materiality.
These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of
our audit procedures on the individual financial statement line items and disclosures and in evaluating the effect of misstatements,
both individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as a whole.
Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:
Overall company materiality
£6,181,824 (2023: £5,282,098).
How we determined it
1% of Net Asset Value
Rationale for benchmark applied
We have applied this benchmark, which is a generally accepted auditing practice
for investment trust audits.
We use performance materiality to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability that the aggregate of uncorrected and
undetected misstatements exceeds overall materiality. Specifically, we use performance materiality in determining the scope
of our audit and the nature and extent of our testing of account balances, classes of transactions and disclosures, for example
in determining sample sizes. Our performance materiality was 75% (2023: 75%) of overall materiality, amounting to £4,636,368
(2023: £3,961,574) for the company financial statements.
In determining the performance materiality, we considered a number of factors - the history of misstatements, risk assessment
and aggregation risk and the effectiveness of controls - and concluded that an amount at the upper end of our normal range
was appropriate.
We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £309,091
(2023: £264,105) as well as misstatements below that amount that, in our view, warranted reporting for qualitative reasons.
Conclusions relating to going concern
Our evaluation of the directors’ assessment of the company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting included:
– evaluating the directors’ updated risk assessment and considering whether it addressed relevant threats to the company;
– evaluating the directors’ assessment of potential operational impacts, considering their consistency with other available
information and our understanding of the business and assessed the potential impact on the financial statements;
– reviewing the directors’ assessment of the company’s financial position in the context of its ability to meet future expected
operating expenses and debt repayments, their assessment of liquidity as well as their review of the operational resilience of the
company and oversight of key third-party service providers; and
– assessing the implication of significant reductions in Net Asset Value as a result of market performance on the ongoing ability of
the company to operate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that,
individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at
least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the
preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this conclusion is not a guarantee as to the company’s
ability to continue as a going concern.
In relation to the directors’ reporting on how they have applied the UK Corporate Governance Code, we have nothing material to
add or draw attention to in relation to the directors’ statement in the financial statements about whether the directors considered
it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of
this report.
81
Reporting on other information
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditors’
report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the
other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in this
report, any form of assurance thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so,
consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained
in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify an apparent material inconsistency or material
misstatement, we are required to perform procedures to conclude whether there is a material misstatement of the financial
statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there
is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report based on
these responsibilities.
With respect to the Strategic report and Directors’ Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the UK
Companies Act 2006 have been included.
Based on our work undertaken in the course of the audit, the Companies Act 2006 requires us also to report certain opinions and
matters as described below.
Strategic report and Directors’ Report
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic report and Directors’
Report for the year ended 30 November 2024 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in accordance
with applicable legal requirements.
In light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we did not
identify any material misstatements in the Strategic report and Directors’ Report.
Directors’ Remuneration
In our opinion, the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report, which is included within the Remuneration Committee Report to be
audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
Corporate governance statement
The Listing Rules require us to review the directors’ statements in relation to going concern, longer-term viability and that part of
the corporate governance statement relating to the company’s compliance with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance
Code specified for our review. Our additional responsibilities with respect to the corporate governance statement as other
information are described in the Reporting on other information section of this report.
Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of the corporate
governance statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained during the audit, and we
have nothing material to add or draw attention to in relation to:
– The directors’ confirmation that they have carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and principal risks;
– The disclosures in the Annual Report that describe those principal risks, what procedures are in place to identify emerging risks
and an explanation of how these are being managed or mitigated;
– The directors’ statement in the financial statements about whether they considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern
basis of accounting in preparing them, and their identification of any material uncertainties to the company’s ability to continue
to do so over a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements;
– The directors’ explanation as to their assessment of the company’s prospects, the period this assessment covers and why the
period is appropriate; and
– The directors’ statement as to whether they have a reasonable expectation that the company will be able to continue in
operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period of its assessment, including any related disclosures drawing
attention to any necessary qualifications or assumptions.
Our review of the directors’ statement regarding the longer-term viability of the company was substantially less in scope than
an audit and only consisted of making inquiries and considering the directors’ process supporting their statement; checking that
the statement is in alignment with the relevant provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code; and considering whether the
statement is consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment
obtained in the course of the audit.
In addition, based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of the
corporate governance statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained during
the audit:
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
82
– The directors’ statement that they consider the Annual Report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable,
and provides the information necessary for the members to assess the company’s position, performance, business model
and strategy;
– The section of the Annual Report that describes the review of effectiveness of risk management and internal control
systems; and
– The section of the Annual Report describing the work of the Audit Committee.
We have nothing to report in respect of our responsibility to report when the directors’ statement relating to the company’s
compliance with the Code does not properly disclose a departure from a relevant provision of the Code specified under the Listing
Rules for review by the auditors.
Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities in respect of the financial statements, the directors are
responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being satisfied
that they give a true and fair view. The directors are also responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to
enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company’s ability to continue as a going
concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the
directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance
is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a
material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or
in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these
financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our
responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which
our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Based on our understanding of the company and industry, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and
regulations related to the ongoing qualification as an Investment Trust under the Corporation Tax Act 2010, and we considered
the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and
regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006. We evaluated management’s
incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls),
and determined that the principal risks were related to posting of inappropriate journal entries to increase income or to overstate
the value of investments and increase the Net Asset Value of the company. Audit procedures performed by the engagement
team included:
– discussions with the directors, the manager and the administrator, including consideration of known or suspected instances of
non-compliance with laws and regulation and fraud;
– reviewing relevant meeting minutes, including those of the Audit Committee;
– evaluation of the controls implemented by the Manager and the Administrator designed to prevent and detect irregularities;
– assessment of the company’s compliance with the requirements of section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, including
recalculation of numerical aspects of the eligibility conditions;
– identifying and testing journal entries, in particular year end journal entries posted by the administrator during the preparation
of the financial statements; and
– designing audit procedures to incorporate unpredictability around the nature, timing or extent of our testing.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. We are less likely to become aware of instances of non-
compliance with laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions reflected in the financial statements.
Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error,
as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.
Our audit testing might include testing complete populations of certain transactions and balances, possibly using data auditing
techniques. However, it typically involves selecting a limited number of items for testing, rather than testing complete populations.
We will often seek to target particular items for testing based on their size or risk characteristics. In other cases, we will use audit
sampling to enable us to draw a conclusion about the population from which the sample is selected.
83
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at: www.frc.org.
uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors’ report.
Use of this report
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the company’s members as a body in accordance with
Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume
responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save
where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
– we have not obtained all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
– adequate accounting records have not been kept by the company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received
from branches not visited by us; or
– certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
– the financial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report, which is included within the Remuneration
Committee Report to be audited are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns.
We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.
Appointment
Following the recommendation of the Audit Committee, we were appointed by the directors on 19 December 2018 to audit the
financial statements for the year ended 30 November 2018 and subsequent financial periods. The period of total uninterrupted
engagement is 7 years, covering the years ended 30 November 2018 to 30 November 2024.
Iain Kirkpatrick (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Edinburgh
12 February 2025
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
84
Income Statement
for the year ended 30 November 2024
Notes
2024
Revenue
£
2024
Capital
£
2024
Total Return
£
2023
Revenue
£
2023
Capital
£
2023
Total Return
£
Gains on investments held at fair value through
profit or loss
8 - 87,449,624 87,449,624 - 32,247,788 32,247,788
Losses on foreign currencies - (208,121) (208,121) - (294,696) (294,696)
Income 1 15,233,118 - 15,233,118 14,426,006 - 14,426,006
Investment management fee 2 (822,531) (1,919,239) (2,741,770) (716,931) (1,672,839) (2,389,770)
Administration expenses 3 (954,818) (3,198) (958,016) (855,035) (1,887) (856,922)
Profit before finance costs and taxation 13,455,769 85,319,066 98,774,835 12,854,040 30,278,366 43,132,406
Finance costs: interest payable and similar charges 4 (433,648) (953,784) (1,387,432) (407,927) (898,583) (1,306,510)
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation 13,022,121 84,365,282 97,387,403 12,446,113 29,379,783 41,825,896
Taxation 5 (1,336,376) - (1,336,376) (1,195,066) - (1,195,066)
Profit after taxation attributable to ordinary
shareholders
11,685,745 84,365,282 96,051,027 11,251,047 29,379,783 40,630,830
Earnings per ordinary share (basic and diluted) 7 27.37p 197.57p 224.94p 26.35p 68.82p 95.17p
Dividends to be distributed in respect of the financial year ended 30 November 2024 total 23.75p (2023: 22.70p), amounting to
£10,155,919 (2023: £9,691,248). Details are set out in Note 6 on page 92.
The total return column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the company.
The supplementary revenue return and capital return columns are both prepared under the guidance published by the Association
of Investment Companies.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or
discontinued in the year.
Profit after taxation attributable to ordinary shareholders disclosed above represents the company’s total comprehensive income.
The Statement of Accounting Policies on pages 88 and 89 and the Notes on pages 90 to 102 form an integral part of
these Financial Statements.
85
Notes
2024
£
2024
£
2023
£
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss 8 644,737,006 553,377,318
Current assets
Other receivables 9 5,471,482 1,661,906
Cash at bank and in hand 9 4,812,419 9,864,904
10,283,901 11,526,810
Current liabilities
Other payables 9 (11,727,937) (11,593,648)
Net current liabilities (1,444,036) (66,838)
Total assets less current liabilities 643,292,970 553,310,480
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 10 (25,110,610) (25,100,721)
Total net assets 618,182,360 528,209,759
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 11 10,740,934 10,673,181
Share premium account 12 3,840,467 -
Capital redemption reserve 12 5,326,819 5,326,819
Capital reserve 12 578,995,798 494,630,516
Revenue reserve 12 19,278,342 17,579,243
Total shareholders funds 13 618,182,360 528,209,759
Net Asset Value per ordinary share 13 1,438.8p 1,237.2p
The financial statements of The Brunner Investment Trust PLC, company number 00226323, as set out in pages 84 to 102, were
approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 12 February 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Carolan Dobson
Chair
Balance Sheet
at 30 November 2024
The Statement of Accounting Policies on pages 88 and 89 and the Notes on pages 90 to 102 form an integral part of
these Financial Statements.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
86
Statement of Changes in Equity
for the year ended 30 November 2024
Notes
Called up
share
capital
£
Share
premium
account
£
Capital
redemption
reserve
£
Capital
reserve
£
Revenue
reserve
£
Total
£
Net assets as at 1 December 2022 10,673,181 - 5,326,819 465,250,733 15,846,230 497,096,963
Revenue profit - - - - 11,251,047 11,251,047
Dividends on ordinary shares 6 - - - - (9,520,477) (9,520,477)
Unclaimed dividends - - - - 2,443 2,443
Capital profit - - - 29,379,783 - 29,379,783
Net assets as at 30 November 2023 10,673,181 - 5,326,819 494,630,516 17,579,243 528,209,759
Net assets as at 1 December 2023 10,673,181 - 5,326,819 494,630,516 17,579,243 528,209,759
Revenue profit - - - - 11,685,745 11,685,745
Shares issued during the year 11 67,753 3,840,467 - - - 3,908,220
Dividends on ordinary shares 6 - - - - (9,990,098) (9,990,098)
Unclaimed dividends - - - - 3,452 3,452
Capital profit - - - 84,365,282 - 84,365,282
Net assets as at 30 November 2024 10,740,934 3,840,467 5,326,819 578,995,798 19,278,342 618,182,360
The Statement of Accounting Policies on pages 88 and 89 and the Notes on pages 90 to 102 form an integral part of
these Financial Statements.
87
Notes
2024
£
2023
£
Operating activities
Profit before finance costs and taxation* 98,774,835 43,132,406
Less: gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss (87,449,624) (32,247,788)
Less: overseas tax suffered (1,336,376) (1,195,066)
Add: losses on foreign currency 208,121 294,696
Purchase of fixed asset investments held at fair value through profit or loss (121,280,716) (115,960,271)
Sales of fixed asset investments held at fair value through profit or loss 117,370,652 118,633,336
Decrease in other receivables 98,644 111,737
Increase in other payables 127,369 142,596
Net cash inflow from operating activities 6,512,905 12,911,646
Financing activities
Interest paid and similar charges (1,348,216) (1,130,222)
Dividend paid on cumulative preference stock (22,407) (22,500)
Dividends paid on ordinary shares 6 (9,990,098) (9,520,477)
Unclaimed dividends over 12 years 3,452 2,443
Net cash outflow from financing activities (11,357,269) (10,670,756)
(Decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (4,844,364) 2,240,890
Cash and cash equivalents 9,864,904 7,918,710
Effect of foreign exchange rates (208,121) (294,696)
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 4,812,419 9,864,904
Comprising:
Cash at bank 4,812,419 9,864,904
* Cash inflow from dividends was £13,372,249 (2023: £12,717,117) and cash inflow from interest was £161,411 (2023: £196,203).
Cash Flow Statement
for the year ended 30 November 2024
The Statement of Accounting Policies on pages 88 and 89 and the Notes on pages 90 to 102 form an integral part of
these Financial Statements.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
88
Statement of Accounting Policies
for the year ended 30 November 2024
The company is incorporated in the United Kingdom
under the Companies Act. The company is a public
company limited by shares and is registered in England
and Wales. The address of the company’s registered
office is shown on page 60. The principal activity of
the company and the nature of its operations are set
out in the strategic report on page 11. The company
conducts its business so as to qualify as an investment
trust company within the meaning of sub-section 1158 of
the Corporation Tax Act 2010. The principal accounting
policies are summarised below. They have all been applied
consistently throughout the year and to the preceding year.
1 Basis of preparation – The financial statements have been
prepared under the historical cost convention, except for
the revaluation of financial instruments held at fair value
through profit or loss and in accordance with applicable
United Kingdom law and UK Accounting Standards
(UK GAAP), including Financial Reporting Standard
102 - the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in
the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102),
the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and in line
with the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Financial
Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture
Capital Trusts’ issued by the Association of Investment
Companies (AIC SORP) in July 2022.
In order to better reflect the activities of an investment trust
company, and in accordance with guidance issued by the
AIC, supplementary information which analyses the Income
Statement between items of revenue and capital nature
has been presented alongside the Income Statement.
The directors believe that it is appropriate to continue to
adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial
statements as the assets of the company consist mainly
of securities, which are readily realisable and significantly
exceed liabilities. Accordingly, the directors believe that the
company has adequate financial resources, to continue
in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The
company’s business, the principal risks and uncertainties
it faces, together with the factors likely to affect its future
development, performance and position are set out in the
Strategic Report on page 11.
2 Income – Dividends received on equity shares are
accounted for on an ex-dividend basis. Foreign dividends
are grossed up at the appropriate rate of withholding tax.
Special dividends are recognised on an ex-dividend basis
and treated as a capital or revenue item depending
on the facts and circumstances of each dividend. The
board reviews special dividends and their treatment at
each meeting.
Where the company has elected to receive its dividends
in the form of additional shares rather than in cash,
the equivalent of the cash dividend is recognised as
income. Any excess in the value of the shares received
over the amount of the cash dividend is recognised in
capital reserves.
Deposit interest receivable is accounted for on an
accruals basis.
3 Investment management fee and administrative
expenses – The investment management fee is calculated
on the basis set out in Note 2 to the financial statements
and is charged to capital and revenue in the ratio 70:30 to
reflect the company’s investment policy and prospective
capital and income growth. Other administrative expenses
are charged in full to revenue, except custodian handling
charges on investment transactions which are charged to
capital. All expenses are on an accruals basis.
4 Investments – As the company’s business is investing in
financial assets with a view to profiting from their total
return in the form of increases in fair value, financial assets
are held at fair value through profit or loss in accordance
with FRS 102 Section 11: ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and
Section 12: ‘Other Financial Instruments’. The company
manages and evaluates the performance of these
investments on a fair value basis in accordance with its
investment strategy, and information about investments is
provided on this basis to the board.
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss are
initially recognised at fair value. After initial recognition,
these continue to be measured at fair value, which for
quoted investments is either the bid price or the last traded
price depending on the convention of the exchange on
which they are listed. Gains or losses on investments are
recognised in the capital column of the Income Statement.
Purchases and sales of financial assets are recognised on
the trade date, being the date which the company commits
to purchase or sell assets.
89
5 Finance costs – In accordance with the FRS 102 Section
11: ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other
Financial Instruments’, long term borrowings are stated
at the amortised cost being the amount of net proceeds
on issue plus accrued finance costs to date. Finance costs
are calculated over the term of the debt on the effective
interest rate basis.
Finance costs net of amortised premiums are charged to
capital and revenue in the ratio 70:30 to reflect the board’s
investment policy and prospective split of capital and
revenue returns.
Dividends payable on the 5% cumulative preference stock
are classified as an interest expense and are charged in full
to revenue.
6 Taxation – Where expenses are allocated between capital
and revenue, any tax relief obtained in respect of those
expenses is allocated between capital and revenue on
the marginal method and the company’s effective rate
of corporation tax for the accounting period. Deferred
taxation is recognised in respect of all timing differences
that have originated but not reversed at the balance
sheet date, where transactions or events that result in an
obligation to pay more tax or a right to pay less tax in the
future have occurred. Timing differences are differences
between the company’s taxable profits and its results as
stated in the financial statements.
A deferred tax asset is recognised when it is more likely
than not that the asset will be recoverable. Deferred tax
is measured on a non-discounted basis at the rate of
corporation tax that is expected to apply when the timing
differences are expected to reverse.
7 Shares repurchased for cancellation and for holding in
treasury – Share capital is reduced by the nominal value of
the shares repurchased, and the capital redemption reserve
is correspondingly increased in accordance with Section
733 Companies Act 2006. The full cost of the repurchase
is charged to the capital reserve within Gains (Losses) on
Sales of Investments.
For shares repurchased for holding in treasury, the full cost
is charged to the capital reserve
8 Shares sold (reissued) from treasury – Proceeds received
from the sale of shares held in treasury are treated as
realised profits in accordance with Section 731 of the
Companies Act 2006. Proceeds equivalent to the original
cost, calculated by applying a weighted average price, are
credited to the capital reserve; proceeds in excess of the
original cost are credited to the share premium account.
9 Shares issued – Share capital is increased by the nominal
value of shares issued. The proceeds in excess of the
nominal value of shares net of expenses are allocated to
the share premium account.
10 Dividends – In accordance with FRS 102 Section 32: ‘Events
After the End of the Reporting Period’, the final dividend
proposed on ordinary shares is recognised as a liability
when approved by shareholders. Interim dividends are
recognised only when paid. Dividends are paid from the
revenue reserve.
11 Foreign currency – In accordance with FRS 102 Section
30: ‘Foreign Currency Translation’, the company is required
to nominate a functional currency, being the currency in
which the company predominately operates. The functional
and reporting currency is pounds sterling, reflecting the
primary economic environment in which both the company
and its’ shareholders predominantly operate and in which
its’ expenses are generally paid. Transactions in foreign
currencies are translated into pounds sterling at the rates
of exchange ruling on the date of the transaction. Foreign
currency monetary assets and liabilities are translated
into pounds sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at
the balance sheet date. Profits and losses thereon are
recognised in the capital column of the income statement
and taken to the capital reserve.
12 Significant judgements, estimates and assumptions – In
the application of the company’s accounting policies, which
are described above, the directors are required to make
judgements, estimates, and assumptions about the carrying
amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily
apparent from other sources. The investment portfolio
currently consists of listed investments and therefore no
significant estimates have been made in valuing these
securities.
There are no significant judgements, estimates,
and assumptions.
Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on
an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are
recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised
if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of
the revision and future periods if the revision affects both
current and future periods.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
90
Notes to the Financial Statements
for the year ended 30 November 2024
1. Income
2024
£
2023
£
Income from Investments*
Equity income from UK investments
†
4,777,907 5,229,024
Equity income from overseas investments
††
10,293,800 9,000,779
15,071,707 14,229,803
Other Income
Deposit interest 161,411 196,203
161,411 196,203
Total income 15,233,118 14,426,006
* All dividend income is derived from listed investments.
†
Includes special dividends of £nil (2023: £101,750).
††
Includes special dividends of £701,078 (2023: £1,326,776).
2. Investment management fee
2024
Revenue
£
2024
Capital
£
2024
Total
£
2023
Revenue
£
2023
Capital
£
2023
Total
£
Investment management fee 822,531 1,919,239 2,741,770 716,931 1,672,839 2,389,770
Under the terms of the Management and Administration Agreement the company’s manager is Allianz Global Investors UK Ltd.
The agreement was restated in July 2014, with the appointment of AllianzGI as the Alternative Investment Fund Manager. On 30
May 2023 the Agreement was novated from Allianz Global Investors GmbH to Allianz Global Investors UK Limited (AllianzGI UK).
In both cases the terms of the agreement were unchanged: it provides for a management fee based on 0.45% per annum of the
value of the assets after deduction of current liabilities, short-term loans under one year and other funds managed by Allianz
Global Investors GmbH, calculated monthly. The fee is charged in the ratio 70:30 between capital and revenue as set out in the
Statement of Accounting Policies.
The provision of investment management services, company administrative and secretarial services by AllianzGI UK under the
Management and Administration Agreement may be terminated by either the company or AllianzGI UK on not less than six
months’ notice.
91
3. Administration expenses
2024
£
2023
£
Auditors’ remuneration
for audit services 45,478 44,275
VAT on auditors’ remuneration 9,096 8,855
54,574 53,130
Other administration expenses
Directors' fees
1
174,183 174,766
Depositary fees 63,686 55,724
Custody fees 44,097 41,777
Registrars' fees 54,892 67,087
Association of Investment Companies' fees 21,839 21,455
Marketing costs 370,471 351,843
Printing and postage 43,268 39,539
Directors' and officers' liability insurance 17,733 18,188
Professional and advisory fees 27,983 8,145
Stock Exchange fees 28,750 22,878
Stock Exchange block listing fee 24,794 -
Other 77,409 65,976
VAT recovered (48,861) (65,473)
954,818 855,035
1
Directors’ fees are set out in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on page 70.
The above expenses include value added tax where applicable.
Custodian handling charges of £3,198 were charged to capital (2023: £1,887).
4. Finance costs: interest payable and similar charges
2024
Revenue
£
2024
Capital
£
2024
Total
£
2023
Revenue
£
2023
Capital
£
2023
Total
£
On 5% Cumulative Preference Stock repayable
after more than five years
22,407 - 22,407 22,500 - 22,500
On 2.84% Fixed Rate Notes 2048 repayable after
more than five years
213,334 497,779 711,113 215,882 503,725 719,607
On Revolving Credit Facility 195,431 456,005 651,436 169,225 394,858 564,083
On sterling overdraft 2,476 - 2,476 320 - 320
433,648 953,784 1,387,432 407,927 898,583 1,306,510
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
92
5. Taxation
2024
Revenue
£
2024
Capital
£
2024
Total
£
2023
Revenue
£
2023
Capital
£
2023
Total
£
Overseas taxation 1,336,376 - 1,336,376 1,195,066 - 1,195,066
Total tax 1,336,376 - 1,336,376 1,195,066 - 1,195,066
Reconciliation of tax charge
Profit before taxation 13,022,121 84,365,282 97,387,403 12,446,113 29,379,783 41,825,896
Tax on profit at 25.00% (2023: 23.01%) 3,255,530 21,091,321 24,346,851 2,863,851 6,760,288 9,624,139
Effects of
Non taxable income (3,769,985) - (3,769,985) (3,257,278) - (3,257,278)
Non taxable capital gains - (21,810,375) (21,810,375) - (7,352,713) (7,352,713)
Disallowable expenses - 800 800 5,177 434 5,611
Overseas tax suffered 1,336,376 - 1,336,376 1,195,066 - 1,195,066
Excess of allowable expenses over taxable income 514,455 718,254 1,232,709 388,250 591,991 980,241
Total tax 1,336,376 - 1,336,376 1,195,066 - 1,195,066
The company’s taxable income is exceeded by its tax allowable expenses, which include both the revenue and capital elements of
the management fee and finance costs.
As at 30 November 2024, the company had accumulated surplus expenses of £114.6 million (2023: £109.7 million) and eligible
unrelieved foreign tax of £nil (2023: £nil).
The company has not recognised a deferred tax asset of £28.7 million (2023: £27.4 million) in respect of these expenses, based on
a prospective corporation tax rate of 25% (2023: 25%) because there is no reasonable prospect of recovery.
The increase in the standard rate of corporation tax was substantively enacted on 24 May 2021 and was effective from 1
April 2023.
6. Dividends on ordinary shares
2024
£
2023
£
Dividends paid on ordinary shares
Third interim dividend – 5.55p paid 12 December 2023 (2022: 5.15p) 2,369,446 2,198,675
Final dividend – 6.05p paid 4 April 2024 (2023: 6.05p) 2,582,910 2,582,910
First interim dividend – 5.90p paid 25 July 2024 (2023: 5.55p) 2,518,871 2,369,446
Second interim dividend – 5.90p paid 12 September 2024 (2023: 5.55p) 2,518,871 2,369,446
9,990,098 9,520,477
Dividends payable at the year end are not recognised as a liability under FRS 102 Section 32 ‘Events After the End of the
Reporting Period’ (see page 88: Statement of Accounting Policies). Details of these dividends are set out below.
2024
£
2023
£
Third interim dividend – 5.90p paid 12 December 2024 (2023: 5.55p) 2,518,871 2,369,446
Final proposed dividend – 6.05p payable 4 April 2025 (2024: 6.05p) 2,599,306 2,582,910
5,118,177 4,952,356
93
The proposed final dividend accrued is based on the number of shares in issue at the year end. However, the dividend payable will
be based on the numbers of shares in issue on the record date and will reflect any changes in the share capital between the year
end and the record date.
All dividends disclosed in the tables above have been paid or are payable from the revenue reserves.
7. Earnings per ordinary share
2024
Revenue
£
2024
Capital
£
2024
Total
£
2023
Revenue
£
2023
Capital
£
2023
Total
£
Profit after taxation attributable to ordinary
shareholders
11,685,745 84,365,282 96,051,027 11,251,047 29,379,783 40,630,830
Earnings per ordinary share 27.37p 197.57p 224.94p 26.35p 68.82p 95.17p
The earnings per ordinary share is based on a weighted number of shares 42,701,544 (2023: 42,692,727) ordinary shares in issue.
8. Investments held at fair value through profit or loss
2024
£
2023
£
Opening book cost 355,552,866 321,784,618
Opening investments holding gains 197,824,452 201,044,464
Opening market value 553,377,318 522,829,082
Additions at cost 121,280,716 115,960,271
Disposals proceeds received (117,370,652) (117,659,823)
Gains on investments 87,449,624 32,247,788
Market value of investments held at 30 November 2024 644,737,006 553,377,318
Closing book cost 394,630,081 355,552,866
Closing investment holding gains 250,106,925 197,824,452
Closing market value 644,737,006 553,377,318
Gains on investments
Gains on investments 87,449,624 32,247,788
Gains on investments 87,449,624 32,247,788
The company received £117,370,652 (2023: £117,659,823) from investments sold in the year. The book cost of these investments
when they were purchased was £82,203,903 (2023: £82,192,022).
These investments have been revalued over time and until they were sold any unrealised gains/losses were included in the fair
value of the investments.
Transaction costs and stamp duty on purchases amounted to £267,885 (2023: £231,783) and transaction costs on sales amounted
to £26,855 (2023: £38,689).
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
94
9. Other receivables, cash at bank and in hand and other payables
2024
£
2023
£
Other receivables
Shares issued 3,908,220 -
Accrued income 1,511,492 1,612,128
Prepayments 51,770 49,778
5,471,482 1,661,906
Cash at bank and in hand
Current account 4,812,419 9,864,904
4,812,419 9,864,904
Other payables: amounts falling due within one year
Other payables 1,147,675 1,020,306
Interest on borrowings (see below) 313,841 313,934
Revolving Credit Facility (i) 10,266,421 10,259,408
11,727,937 11,593,648
The carrying amount of other receivables, cash and cash equivalents and other payables: amounts falling due within one year,
each approximate their fair value.
2024
£
2023
£
Interest on outstanding borrowings consists of:
5% Cumulative preference stock 11,218 11,311
2.84% Fixed Rate Note 2048 302,623 302,623
313,841 313,934
(i) On 27 June 2022 the company entered into a revolving credit facility agreement of £10m (replacing an existing facility of £10m).
The full amount of £10m is currently drawn down. The rate of interest for the revolving credit facility is made up of a fixed margin
plus SONIA rate. Under this agreement £10m was rolled over on 27 December 2024, with a maturity date of 27 June 2025. The
repayment date of the revolving facility is the last day of its interest period and the termination date is 27 June 2025.
The company pays a commitment fee of 0.30% p.a. on any undrawn amounts.
10. Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
2024
£
2023
£
5% Cumulative preference stock (i) 450,000 450,000
2.84% Fixed Rate Note 2048 (ii) 24,660,610 24,650,721
25,110,610 25,100,721
(i) The 5% Cumulative Preference Stock is recognised as a creditor due after more than one year under the provisions of FRS102
Section 11: ’Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12: ’Other Financial Instruments’. The right of the preference stockholders to
receive payments is not calculated by reference to the company’s profits and, in the event of a return of capital are limited to a
specific amount, being £450,000. Dividends on the preference stock are payable on 30 June and 31 December each year.
(ii) The Fixed Rate Notes of £25,000,000 is stated at £24,660,610 (2023: £24,650,721) being the net proceeds of £24,601,800 (2023:
£24,601,800) plus accrued finance costs of £58,810 (2023: £48,921).
The Note is repayable on 28 June 2048 and carries interest at 2.84% per annum on the principal amount. Interest is payable in
June and December each year. The effective interest rate of the loan inclusive of the issue costs is 2.94%.
95
11. Called up share capital
2024
£
2023
£
Allotted and fully paid
42,963,736 ordinary shares of 25p each (2023: 42,692,727) 10,740,934 10,673,181
2024
Number
2024
£’000s
2023
Number
2023
£’000s
Allotted 25p ordinary shares
Brought forward 42,692,727 10,673,181 42,692,727 10,673,181
Shares issued during the year 271,009 67,753 - -
Carried forward 42,963,736 10,740,934 42,692,727 10,673,181
The directors are authorised by an ordinary resolution passed on 25 March 2024 to allot relevant securities, in accordance with section
551 of the Companies Act 2006, up to a maximum of 14,230,908 ordinary shares of 25p each. This authority expires on 24 June 2025
and accordingly a renewed authority will be sought at the annual general meeting on 2 April 2025.
During the year nil (2023: nil) ordinary shares were repurchased by the company. The aggregate purchase price of these shares,
amounting to £nil (2023: £nil) was charged to the capital reserve, within gains on sales of investments (see Note 12).
During the year 271,009 shares were issued (2023: nil) for a total consideration of £3,908,220 (2023: £nil ), net of issues costs of £7,047
(2023: £nil).
Since the year end a further 283,991 shares have been issued for a total consideration of £4,175,518, net of issue costs of £7,529,
as at 12 February 2025.
12. Reserves
Capital Reserve
Share
premium
account
£
Capital
redemption
reserve
£
Gains (losses)
on sales of
Investments
£
Investment
holding
gains (losses)
£
Revenue
reserve
£
Balance at 1 December 2023 - 5,326,819 297,343,743 197,286,773 17,579,243
Gains on realisation of investments - - 69,887,573 - -
Transfer on disposal of investments - - (34,720,422) 34,720,422 -
Movement in investment holding losses - - - 17,562,051 -
Losses on foreign currency - - - (208,121) -
Issue of ordinary shares 3,840,467 - - - -
Investment management fee - - (1,919,239) - -
Finance costs of borrowings - - (953,784) - -
Other capital expenses - - (3,198) - -
Dividends appropriated in the year - - - - (9,990,098)
Profit retained for the year - - - - 11,685,745
Unclaimed dividends - - - - 3,452
Balance at 30 November 2024 3,840,467 5,326,819 329,634,673 249,361,125 19,278,342
All paid or payable dividends for the year are payable from the revenue reserve (2023: same).
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
96
13. Net Asset Value total return
The Net Asset Value total return for the year is the percentage movement from the capital Net Asset Value as at 30 November
2023 to the Net Asset Value, on a total return basis as at 30 November 2024. The Net Asset Value total return with debt at fair
value is 17.9% (2023: 8.7%) and the Net Asset Value total return with debt at par is 18.2% (2023: 8.2%).
The Net Asset Value per ordinary share is based on 42,963,736 ordinary shares in issue at the year end (2023: 42,692,727). The
method of calculation of the Net Asset Value with debt at fair value is described in Note 15(c) on page 100.
The Net Asset Value per ordinary share was as follows:
Debt at
fair value
2024
Debt
at par
2024
Debt at
fair value
2023
Debt
at par
2023
Net Asset Value per ordinary share attributable 1,459.6p 1,438.8p 1,258.6p 1,237.2p
Effect of dividends reinvested on the respective ex-dividend dates 23.8p 23.8p 22.7p 22.7p
Net Asset Value total return 1,483.4p 1,462.6p 1,281.3p 1,259.9p
Net Asset Value attributable £627,111,895 £618,182,360 £537,307,615 £528,209,759
14. Contingent liabilities, capital commitments and guarantees
At 30 November 2024 there were no contingent liabilities, capital commitments or guarantees (2023: £nil).
15. Financial risk management policies and procedures
The company invests in equities and other investments in accordance with its investment objective as stated in the Strategic Report
on page 12. In pursuing its investment objective, the company is exposed to certain inherent risks that could result in either a
reduction in the company’s net assets or a reduction in the profits available for distribution by way of dividends.
The main risks arising from the company’s financial instruments are: market risk (comprising market price risk, market yield risk,
foreign currency risk and interest rate risk), liquidity risk and credit risk. The directors’ approach to the management of these risks,
are set out below. The directors determine the objectives and agree policies for managing each of these risks, as set out below.
The manager, in close cooperation with the directors, implements the company’s risk management policies. These policies have
remained substantially unchanged during the current and preceding year.
(a) Market risk
The manager assesses the exposure to market risk when making each investment decision, and monitors the risk on the investment
portfolio on an ongoing basis. Market risk comprises of market price risk (price and yield), foreign currency risk and interest
rate risk.
(i) Market pricerisk
Market price risk arises mainly from the uncertainty about future prices of financial instruments held. It represents the potential loss
the company might suffer through holding market positions in the face of price movements. An analysis of the company’s portfolio
begins on page 50.
Market price risk sensitivity
The value of the company’s listed equities which were exposed to market price risk as at 30 November 2024 and 2023 was
as follows:
2024
£
2023
£
Listed equity investments held at fair value through profit or loss 644,737,006 553,377,318
The following illustrates the sensitivity of the return after taxation for the year and the net assets to an increase or decrease of 30%
(2023: 30%) in the fair values of the company’s quoted equities. This level of change is considered to be reasonably possible based
on observation of market conditions in recent years. The sensitivity analysis on the profit after taxation and net assets is based on
the impact of a 30% increase or decrease in the value of the company’s listed investments at each closing balance sheet date and
the consequent impact on the investment management fees for the year, with all other variables held constant.
97
2024
30% increase
in fair value
£
2024
30% decrease
in fair value
£
2023
30% increase
in fair value
£
2023
30% decrease
in fair value
£
Revenue earnings
Investment management fee (261,118) 261,118 (224,118) 224,118
Capital earnings
Gains (losses) on investments at fair value 193,421,102 (193,421,102) 166,013,195 (166,013,195)
Investment management fee (609,276) 609,276 (522,942) 522,942
Change in net earnings and net assets 192,550,708 (192,550,708) 165,266,135 (165,266,135)
Management of market price risk
The directors meet regularly to review the asset allocation of the portfolio recommended by the manager, in order to minimise the
risk associated with particular countries or industry sectors. Dedicated fund managers have the responsibility for monitoring the
existing portfolio selection in accordance with the company’s investment objectives and seek to ensure that individual stocks meet
an acceptable risk reward profile.
(ii) Market yield risk
Market yield risk arises from the uncertainty about the company’s ability to maintain its income objectives due to a systematic
decline in corporate dividend levels.
Management of market yield risk
The directors regularly review the current and projected yield of the investment portfolio, and discuss with the manager the extent
to which it will enable the company to meet its investment income objective. The board has also committed to using the strong
revenue reserve if required.
(iii) Foreign currency risk
Foreign currency risk is the risk of the movement in the values of overseas financial instruments as a result of fluctuations in
exchange rates.
Management of foreign currency risk
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling on the date of the transaction. Foreign
currency assets and liabilities are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date.
The company does not currently hedge against foreign currency exposure.
The table below summarises in sterling terms the foreign currency risk exposure:
2024
Investments
£
2024
Other net assets
(liabilities)
£
2024
Total currency
exposure
£
2023
Investments
£
2023
Other net assets
(liabilities)
£
2023
Total currency
exposure
£
Pounds Sterling 151,360,466 (27,962,100) 123,398,366 138,847,724 (27,578,843) 111,268,881
Australian Dollar 10,940,110 - 10,940,110 8,320,391 114,964 8,435,355
Danish Krone - 30,811 30,811 5,790,389 37,735 5,828,124
Euro 75,745,143 277,035 76,022,178 76,635,351 272,067 76,907,418
Hong Kong Dollar 4,320,498 - 4,320,498 5,009,435 - 5,009,435
Japanese Yen 11,813,306 128,044 11,941,350 11,411,833 143,345 11,555,178
Norwegian Krona 12,305,014 80,744 12,385,758 10,710,122 - 10,710,122
Swedish Krona 20,189,603 7,170 20,196,773 20,345,454 7,479 20,352,933
Swiss Franc 31,666,088 581,469 32,247,557 31,175,786 588,358 31,764,144
Taiwan Dollar - - - - 871,056 871,056
US Dollar 326,396,778 302,181 326,698,959 245,130,833 376,280 245,507,113
Total 644,737,006 (26,554,646) 618,182,360 553,377,318 (25,167,559) 528,209,759
The following table details the company’s sensitivity to a 20% increase and decrease in sterling against the relevant foreign
currencies and the resultant impact that any such increase or decrease would have on net return and net assets. The sensitivity
analysis includes only outstanding foreign currency denominated items and adjusts their translation at the year end for a 20%
change in foreign currency rates.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
98
2024
20% decrease in
sterling against
foreign currencies
£
2024
20% increase in
sterling against
foreign currencies
£
2023
20% decrease in
sterling against
foreign currencies
£
2023
20% increase in
sterling against
foreign currencies
£
Australian Dollar 2,735,028 (1,823,352) 2,108,839 (1,405,893)
Danish Krone 7,703 (5,135) 1,457,031 (971,354)
Euro 19,005,545 (12,670,363) 19,226,855 (12,817,903)
Hong Kong Dollar 1,080,125 (720,083) 1,252,359 (834,906)
Japanese Yen 2,985,338 (1,990,225) 2,888,795 (1,925,863)
Norwegian Krona 3,096,440 (2,064,293) 2,677,531 (1,785,020)
Swedish Krona 5,049,193 (3,366,129) 5,088,233 (3,392,156)
Swiss Franc 8,061,889 (5,374,593) 7,941,036 (5,294,024)
Taiwan Dollar - - 217,764 (145,176)
US Dollar 81,674,740 (54,449,827) 61,376,778 (40,917,852)
Total 123,696,001 (82,464,000) 104,235,221 (69,490,147)
(iv) Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk is the risk of movements in the value of financial instruments as a result of fluctuations in interest rates.
Interest rate exposure
The table below summarises in sterling terms the financial assets and financial liabilities whose values are directly affected by
changes in interest rates.
2024
Fixed
rate
interest
£
2024
Floating
rate
interest
£
2024
Nil
Interest
£
2024
Total
£
2023
Fixed
rate
interest
£
2023
Floating
rate
interest
£
2023
Nil
Interest
£
2023
Total
£
Financial assets
- 4,812,419 644,737,006 649,549,425 - 9,864,904 553,377,318 563,242,222
Financial Liabilities
(25,110,610) - - (25,110,610) (25,100,721) - - (25,100,721)
Net financial (liabilities) assets
(25,110,610) 4,812,419 644,737,006 624,438,815 (25,100,721) 9,864,904 553,377,318 538,141,501
Short term receivables and payables - - -
(6,256,455) - - - (9,931,742)
Net (liabilities) assets per balance
sheet
(25,110,610) 4,812,419 644,737,006 618,182,360 (25,100,721) 9,864,904 553,377,318 528,209,759
As at 30 November 2024, the interest rates received on cash balances, or paid on bank overdrafts respectively, is approximate to
2.55% and 5.75% per annum (2023: 2.75% and 6.25% per annum).
The fixed rate interest bearing liabilities bear the following coupon and effective rates as at 30 November 2023 and 30
November 2024.
2024
Maturity
date
Amount
borrowed
£
Coupon
rate
Effective
rate since
inception*
5% Cumulative Preference Stock n/a 450,000 5.00% n/a
2.84% Fixed Rate Note 2048 28/06/2048 25,000,000 2.84% 2.94%
2023
Maturity
date
Amount
borrowed
£
Coupon
rate
Effective
rate since
inception*
5% Cumulative Preference Stock n/a 450,000 5.00% n/a
2.84% Fixed Rate Note 2048 28/06/2048 25,000,000 2.84% 2.94%
* The effective rates are calculated in accordance with FRS 102 Section 12: ‘Other Financial Instruments’ as detailed in the Statement of
Accounting Policies on page 88.
99
The weighted average effective rate of the company’s fixed interest bearing liabilities (excluding the 5% cumulative preference
stock) is 2.94% (2023: 2.94%) and the weighted average period to maturity of these liabilities is 23.5 years (2023: 24.5 years).
The above year end amounts are reasonably representative of the exposure to interest rates during the year, as the level of
exposure does not change materially. The company’s profit after tax and net assets, is not significantly affected by changes in
interest rates.
Management of interest rate risk
The company invests mainly in equities, the values of which are not directly affected by changes in prevailing market interest rates.
The company finances its operations through a mixture of share capital, retained earnings and long term borrowings which are
subject to fixed rates. Movement in interest rates will not materially affect the finance costs of the company.
The company is considered to have low direct exposure to interest rate risk.
(b) Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk relates to the capacity to meet liabilities as they fall due and is dependent on the liquidity of the underlying assets.
Maturity of financial liabilities
The table below presents the future cash flows payable by the company in respect of its financial liabilities.
Cash flows in respect of the principal and interest on the 2.84% Fixed Rate Note 2048 reflect the maturity dates set out in Note 10
on page 94. Cash flows in respect of the 5% cumulative preference stock, which has no fixed repayment date, assume maturity
of 20 years from the balance sheet date. Cash flows have not been discounted.
2024
Three
months
or less
£
Between
three months
and one year
£
Between
one and
five years
£
More than
five years
£
Total
£
Other payables
Finance costs of borrowing 366,250 366,250 - - 732,500
Revolving Credit Facility 303,855 10,000,000 - - 10,303,855
Other payables 1,147,675 - - - 1,147,675
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
Maturity of borrowings - - - 25,450,000 25,450,000
Finance costs of borrowing - - 2,930,000 13,827,500 16,757,500
1,817,780 10,366,250 2,930,000 39,277,500 54,391,530
2023
Three
months
or less
£
Between
three months
and one year
£
Between
one and
five years
£
More than
five years
£
Total
£
Other payables
Finance costs of borrowing 366,250 366,250 - - 732,500
Revolving Credit Facility 320,516 10,000,000 - - 10,320,516
Other payables 1,020,306 - - - 1,020,306
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
Maturity of borrowings - - - 25,450,000 25,450,000
Finance costs of borrowing - - 2,930,000 14,537,500 17,467,500
1,707,072 10,366,250 2,930,000 39,987,500 54,990,822
Other creditors include trade creditors only, no accrued finance costs included.
Management of liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is not considered to be significant as the company’s assets mainly comprise realisable securities, which can be sold
to meet funding requirements. Short-term flexibility can be achieved through the use of overdraft facilities, where necessary. The
company has an undrawn committed borrowing facility of £5 million (2023: £5 million).
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
100
(c) Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk of default by a counterparty in discharging its obligations under transactions that could result in the company
suffering a loss. There were no impaired assets as of 30 November 2024 (30 November 2023: nil). The counterparties which the
company engages with are regulated entities and are of high credit quality.
Management of credit risk
Outstanding settlements are subject to credit risk. Credit risk is mitigated by the company through its decision to transact
with counterparties of high credit quality. The company only buys and sells investments through brokers which are approved
counterparties, thus minimising the risk of default during settlement. The credit rating of brokers are reviewed quarterly by
the manager.
The company is also exposed to credit risk through the use of banks for its cash position. Bankruptcy or insolvency of banks may
cause the company’s rights with respect to cash held by banks to be delayed or limited. The company’s cash balance is held by
HSBC Bank plc, rated A1 by Moody’s rating agency. The directors believe the counterparties the company has chosen to transact
with are of high credit quality, therefore the company has minimal exposure to credit risk.
In summary, the exposure to credit risk at 30 November 2024 and 2023 was as follows:
2024
£
2023
£
Other receivables:
Share issue 3,908,220 -
Accrued income 1,511,492 1,612,128
Prepayments 51,770 49,778
5,471,482 1,661,906
Cash at bank and in hand 4,812,419 9,864,904
10,283,901 11,526,810
Fair values of financial assets and financial liabilities
Investments are designated as held at fair value through profit or loss in accordance with FRS 102 sections 11 and 12.
FRS 102 sets out three fair value levels.
Level 1 – The unadjusted quoted price in an active market for identical assets or liabilities that the entity can access at the
measurement date.
Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable (i.e., developed using market data) for the
asset or liability, either directly or indirectly.
Level 3 – Inputs are unobservable (i.e., for which market data is unavailable) for the asset or liability.
With the exception of those financial liabilities measured at amortised cost, all other financial assets and financial liabilities are
either carried at their fair value or the balance sheet amount is a reasonable approximation of their fair value.
As at 30 November 2024 the financial assets at fair value through profit and loss of £644,737,006 (2023: £553,377,318) are
categorised as follows:
2024
£
2023
£
Level 1 644,737,006 553,377,318
Level 2 - -
Level 3 - -
644,737,006 553,377,318
There were no transfers between levels for financial assets and financial liabilities during the year recorded at fair value as at 30
November 2024 and 30 November 2023.
101
The financial liabilities measured at amortised cost have the following fair values:*
2024
Book value
£
2024
Fair value
£
2023
Book value
£
2023
Fair value
£
Preference Stock 450,000 411,075 450,000 377,865
Fixed Rate Note 24,660,610 15,770,000 24,650,721 15,625,000
25,110,610 16,181,075 25,100,721 16,002,865
The Net Asset Value per ordinary share, with the debt at fair value is calculated as follows:
2024
£
2023
£
Net assets per balance sheet 618,182,360 528,209,759
Add: financial liabilities at book value 25,110,610 25,100,721
Less: financial liabilities at fair value* (16,181,075) (16,002,865)
Net assets (debt at fair value) 627,111,895 537,307,615
Net Asset Value per ordinary share (debt at fair value) 1,459.6p 1,258.6p
* The fair value has been derived from the closing market value as at 30 November 2024 and 30 November 2023.
The fair value of the long term debt is calculated with reference to the nearest relevant gilt based on repayment date. A margin is
added to the yield of the relevant reference gilt to calculate the fair value. This margin is derived from the excess of UK corporate
bond yields over gilt yields.
The Net Asset Value per ordinary share is based on 42,963,736 ordinary shares in issue at 30 November 2024 (2023: 42,692,727).
16. Capital management policies and procedures
The company’s objective is to provide growth in capital value and dividends over the long term through investing in a portfolio of
UK and international securities.
The company’s capital at 30 November comprises:
2024
£
2023
£
Debt
Revolving Credit Facility 10,266,421 10,259,408
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 25,110,610 25,100,721
35,377,031 35,360,129
Equity
Called up share capital 10,740,934 10,673,181
Share premium account and other reserves 607,441,426 517,536,578
618,182,360 528,209,759
Total capital 653,559,391 563,569,888
Debt as a percentage of total capital 5.4% 6.3%
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
102
The board, with the assistance of the manager, monitors and reviews the broad structure of the company’s capital on an ongoing
basis. The level of gearing is monitored, taking into account the manager’s view on the market and the future prospects of the
company’s performance. Capital management also involves reviewing the difference between the Net Asset Value per share and the
share price (i.e., the level of share price discount or premium) to assess the need to repurchase shares for cancellation.
The company is subject to several externally imposed capital requirements. The company has an overdraft facility of £5m (2023:
£5m) available, hence any amounts drawn under this facility should not exceed £5m, and as a public company the minimum
share capital is £50,000. The company’s objective, policies and processes for managing capital are unchanged from the preceding
accounting period, and the company has complied with them. The terms of the debt instruments have various covenants which
prescribe that moneys borrowed should not exceed 33% of the adjusted Net Asset Value. These are measured in accordance with the
policies used in the annual financial statements. The company has complied with these.
17. Transactions with the Investment Manager and related parties
The amounts paid to the investment manager together with details of the investment management contract are disclosed in note
2 on page 90. The existence of an independent board of directors demonstrates that the company is free to pursue its own
financial and operating policies and therefore, under FRS102 Section 33: ‘Related Party Disclosures’, the investment manager is not
considered to be a related party.
The company’s related parties are its directors. Fees paid to the company’s board are disclosed in the Directors’ Remuneration
Report on page 70.
There are no other identifiable related parties at the year end, and as of 12 February 2025.
18. Post Balance Sheet Events
Since the year end a further 283,991 shares have been issued for a total consideration of £4,175,518, net of issue costs of £7,529, as
at 12 February 2025.
103
Investor
Information
104 Investor information (unaudited)
107 Notice of Meeting
111 Glossary
Notable performer
InterContinental Hotels
Group is headquartered
in Windsor, United
Kingdom.
103
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
104
AIFM and Depositary
Allianz Global Investors UK Limited (AllianzGI UK) is designated the Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM). AllianzGI UK is
authorised to act as an AIFM and to conduct its activities by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in accordance with AIFMD and
FCA requirements. The management fee and the notice period are unchanged in the restated management and administration
agreement (details in Note 2 on page 90).
The company appointed HSBC Bank PLC as its depositary and custodian in accordance with AIFMD under an agreement between
the company, AllianzGI UK and HSBC. Depositary fees are charged in addition to custody fees and are calculated on the basis of
net assets.
Leverage and risk policies under AIFMD
Details of leverage and risk policies required under AIFMD are published on the website brunner.co.uk under Literature/Trust
Documents/Disclosures to Investors under AIFMD. These policies represent no change to the board’s policies in existence prior to
AIFMD and are in place to ensure that these limits would not be breached under any foreseeable circumstances.
Remuneration disclosure of the AIFM
The following table shows that total amount of remuneration granted to the employees of AllianzGI UK in the financial year
to 31 December 2023 divided into fixed and variable components. It is also broken down by material risk takers, members of
management/senior management function (‘SMF’) holders without control function, members of management/SMF with control
function and other risk takers.
Number of employees: 290
All employees Risk taker
Board
member
Other
risk taker
Employees with
control function
Employees with
comparable
compensation
Fixed remuneration 21,487,405 2,160,697 1,444,946 176,167 539,584 3,685,675
Variable remuneration 17,371,547 4,130,354 2,883,067 76,245 1,171,042 10,443,368
Total remuneration 38,858,952 6,291,051 4,328,013 252,412 1,710,626 14,129,043
Note: Operational start of AllianzGI UK Ltd on 30 May 2023, therefore only partial year is shown.
The information on employee remuneration does not include remuneration paid by delegated managers to their employees.
AllianzGI UK does not pay remuneration to employees of delegated companies directly from the fund.
Setting the remuneration
AllianzGI UK is subject to certain requirements applicable to investment management companies with regard to structuring the
remuneration system.
The board of directors of AllianzGI UK has set up a remuneration committee. It has the overall responsibility for overseeing the
implementation of the remuneration policy and practices. Working in close cooperation with control functions as well as with
external advisers and in conjunction with the management, the human resources department has developed AllianzGI UK’s
remuneration policy. The remuneration committee ensures that on a regular basis the implementation of the remuneration policy
is subject to a central and independent internal review.
Remuneration structure
The primary components of monetary remuneration are the basic salary, which typically reflects the scope, responsibilities and
experience required in a particular role, and an annual variable remuneration. The total amount of the variable remuneration
payable throughout AllianzGI UK depends on the performance of the business and on the company’s risk position and will
therefore vary every year. In this respect, the allocation of specific amounts to particular employees will depend on the
performance of the employee and their departments during the period under review. Variable remuneration includes an annual
bonus paid in cash following the end of the financial year. In the case of employees whose variable remuneration exceeds a
certain threshold, a substantial portion of the annual variable remuneration is deferred for a period of three years. The deferred
portions increase in line with the level of the variable remuneration. Half of the deferred amount is linked to the performance of
AllianzGI UK, and the other half is invested in the funds managed by AllianzGI UK. The amounts ultimately distributed depend on
the company’s business performance or the performance of shares in certain investment funds over several years. In addition, the
deferred remuneration elements may be withheld under the terms of the plan.
Investor information (unaudited)
105
Performance evaluation
The level of pay awarded to employees of AllianzGI UK is
linked to both quantitative and qualitative performance
indicators. For investment managers, whose decisions make
a real difference in achieving our clients’ investment goals,
quantitative indicators are geared towards sustainable
investment performance. For portfolio managers in particular,
the quantitative element is aligned with the benchmark of
the client portfolios they manage or with the client’s expected
return, measured over a period of one year and three years. For
client-facing employees, goals also include client satisfaction,
which is measured independently. The remuneration of
employees in controlling functions is not directly linked to the
business performance of individual departments monitored by
the controlling function.
Risk takers
The following groups of employees of AllianzGI UK were
qualified as risk takers: members of management/Senior
Management Function holders without control function,
members of management/Senior Management Function
holders with control function and other risk takers.
Risk avoidance
AllianzGI UK has comprehensive risk reporting in place,
which covers both current and future risks of our business
activities. Risks which exceed the organisation’s risk appetite
are presented to the global remuneration committee, which
will decide, if necessary, on the adjustments to the total
remuneration pool. Individual variable compensation may
also be reduced or withheld in full if employees violate our
compliance policies or take excessive risks on behalf of
AllianzGI UK.
Annual review and material changes to the
remuneration system
The board of AllianzGI UK approved the remuneration
policy which had been implemented in accordance with the
remuneration regulations.
Key Investor Information Document (KID)
The Key Investor Information (KID) is a standardised pan-
European document that contains product, risk, charges and
other information. It is a regulatory requirement that you are
provided with a KID before you invest, and you will be required
to declare that you have seen the latest KID when you make
your investment.
The Brunner Investment Trust KID is available under
Information/Documents at brunner.co.uk. However, your
chosen platform provider or stockbroker should provide you
with a copy before accepting your investment instructions.
Please note that existing investors do not need to review
the KID unless planning to add to an investment. The KID’s
standardised format is intended to allow potential investors
to compare funds easily, on a like-for-like basis. The KID now
includes the same ongoing charge figure as we disclose in
this report (in line with the AIC methodology described in
the Glossary at the back of this document). There is also now
a narrative statement within that document, as well as on
our monthly factsheets, which reminds prospective investors
and shareholders that the ‘charges’ disclosed are already
accounted for within the NAV and therefore also the price
paid – investors do not have to pay any further charges to their
investment trust or its manager after purchasing shares.
Financial calendar
Year end 30 November.
Full year results announced and Annual Report posted to
shareholders in February.
Annual General Meeting held in March/April.
Half year results announced and half-yearly Financial Report
posted to shareholders in July.
Ordinary dividends
It is anticipated that dividends will be paid as follows:
1st quarterly June/July
2nd quarterly September
3rd quarterly December
Final March/April
Preference dividends
Payable half-yearly 30 June and 31 December.
Benchmark
For the year under review the benchmark was 70% FTSE
World Ex UK Index / 30% FTSE All-Share Index. For further
information, the FTSE 100 Index was 8,287.30 at 30 November
2024, compared to 7,453.75 at 30 November 2023, an increase
of 11.2%.
Market and portfolio information
The company’s ordinary shares are listed on the London
Stock Exchange. The market price range, gross yield and Net
Asset Value are shown daily in the Financial Times and The
Daily Telegraph under the headings ‘Investment Companies’
and ‘Investment Trusts’, respectively. The Net Asset Value
of the ordinary shares is calculated daily and published on
the London Stock Exchange Regulatory News Service. The
geographical spread of investments and ten largest holdings
are published monthly on the London Stock Exchange
Regulatory News Service. They are also available from the
manager’s Investors Helpline on 0800 389 4696 or via the
company’s website: brunner.co.uk.
Website
Further information about The Brunner Investment
Trust PLC, including monthly factsheets, daily share
price and performance, is available on the company’s
website: brunner.co.uk.
How to Invest
Information is available from AllianzGI UK either via Investor
Services on 0800 389 4696 or on the company’s website:
brunner.co.uk. A list of providers can be found on the company’s
website: brunner.co.uk/about-us/how-to-invest.
Dividend
The board is recommending a final dividend of 6.05p to be
payable on 4 April 2025 to shareholders on the Register
of Members at the close of business on 21 February 2025,
with an ex-dividend date of 20 February 2025, making
a total distribution of 23.75p per share for the year
INVESTOR INFORMATION
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
106
ended 30 November 2023, an increase of 4.8% over last
year’s distribution.
A Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) is available for this
dividend and the relevant Election Date is 7 March 2025.
Cash dividends will be sent by cheque to first-named
shareholders at their registered address. Dividends may be
paid directly into shareholders’ bank accounts. Details of how
this may be arranged can be obtained from MUFG Corporate
Markets, formerly Link Group. Dividends mandated in this way
are paid via Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services (BACS).
Registrars
MUFG Corporate Markets, Central Square, 29 Wellington
Street, Leeds LS1 4DL. Telephone: 0371 664 0300. Lines are
open 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. (UK time) Monday to Friday.
Email:shareholderenquiries@cm.mpms.mufg.com
Website: https://eu.mpms.mufg.com
Shareholder enquiries
In the event of queries regarding their holdings of shares,
lost certificates, dividend payments, registered details, etc.,
shareholders should contact the registrars on 0371 664 0300.
Lines are open 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. (UK time) Monday to
Friday. Calls to the helpline number from outside the UK are
charged at applicable international rates. Different charges
may apply to calls made from mobile telephones and calls
may be recorded and monitored randomly for security and
training purposes.
Changes of name and address must be notified to the
registrars in writing. Any general enquiries about the company
should be directed to the Company Secretary, The Brunner
Investment Trust PLC, 199 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3TY.
Telephone: 020 3246 7513.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan for ordinary
shareholders (DRIP)
The registrars offer a DRIP which gives ordinary shareholders
the opportunity to use their cash dividend to buy further shares
in the company under a low-cost dealing arrangement. Terms
and Conditions and an application form are enclosed with
each dividend payment. For more information please email
sharedeal@cm.mpms.mufg.com or call 0371 664 0381.
Share dealing services
MUFG Corporate Markets, formerly Link Group, operate
an online and telephone dealing facility for UK resident
shareholders with share certificates. Stamp duty and
commission may be payable on transactions.
For further information on these services please contact:
sharedeal@cm.mpms.mufg.com for online dealing or 0371 664
0445 for telephone dealing. Lines are open 8.00 a.m. to 4.30
p.m. (UK time) Monday to Friday. Calls to the helpline number
from outside the UK are charged at applicable international
rates. Different charges may apply to calls made from mobile
telephones and calls may be recorded and monitored
randomly for security and training purposes.
Share Portal
MUFG Corporate Markets, formerly Link Group, offer
shareholders a free online service called Share Portal, enabling
shareholders to access a comprehensive range of shareholder
related information. Through Share Portal, shareholders can:
view their current and historical shareholding details; obtain an
indicative share price and valuation; amend address details;
view details of dividend payments; and apply for dividends to
be paid directly to a bank or change existing bank details.
Shareholders can access these services at
signalshares.com. Shareholders will need to register for a Share
Portal Account by completing an on-screen registration form.
An email address is required.
International payment services
MUFG Corporate Markets, formerly Link Group, operate an
international payment service for shareholders, whereby they
can elect either for their dividend to be paid by foreign currency
draft or they can request an international bank mandate. This
service is only available for dividend payments of £10 or more
and a small administration fee per dividend payment applies.
For further information on this service please contact: 0371 664
0385. Lines are open between 9.00am and 5.30pm (UK time),
Monday to Friday.
Shareholder proxy voting
Shareholders may submit their proxy electronically using the
Share Portal service at www.signalshares.com. Or via the
registrars’ new LinkVote+ shareholder App. Further details on
voting via the LinkVote+ App, online through the registrars’
Share Portal, or by post using the personalised proxy card
provided, are contained within the Notice of Meeting Notes on
page 108.
CREST proxy voting
Shares held in uncertificated form (i.e., in CREST) may be
voted through the CREST Proxy Voting Service in accordance
with the procedures set out in the CREST manual. Voting
via the Proxymity platform is also available to institutional
shareholders. Further details are contained within the Notice of
Meeting Notes on page 108.
Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
The company is a member of the AIC, the trade body of the
investment trust industry, which provides a range of literature
including fact sheets and a monthly statistical service. Copies of
these publications can be obtained from the AIC, 9th Floor, 24
Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4YY, or at theaic.co.uk.
AIC Category: Global.
107
Notice is hereby given that the ninety-eighth annual general
meeting of The Brunner Investment Trust PLC will be held
at Trinity House, Trinity Square, Tower Hill, London EC3N
4DH on Wednesday 2 April 2025 at 12 noon to transact the
following business:
Ordinary business
1. To receive and adopt the Directors’ Report and the
Financial Statements for the year ended 30 November
2024 with the Auditors’ Report thereon.
2. To declare a final dividend of 6.05p per ordinary share.
3. To re-elect Carolan Dobson as a director.
4. To re-elect Amanda Aldridge as a director.
5. To re-elect Elizabeth Field as a director.
6. To re-elect Andrew Hutton as a director.
7. To re-elect Jim Sharp as a director.
8 To approve the Directors’ Remuneration
Implementation Report.
9. To re-appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the auditor
of the company.
10. To authorise the directors to determine the remuneration of
the auditor.
Special business
To consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolutions
of which resolution 11 will be proposed as an ordinary
resolution and resolutions 12 and 13 will be proposed as
special resolutions:
11. That the directors be and are hereby generally and
unconditionally authorised pursuant to section 551 of the
Companies Act 2006 to allot relevant securities (within
the meaning of section 551 of that Act) provided that
this power shall be limited to the allotment of relevant
securities up to an aggregate nominal amount of
£3,600,373 (14,401,493 ordinary shares) and shall expire at
the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the
company held after the meeting at which this resolution
is passed or 1 July 2026 if earlier, save that the directors
may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which
would or might require relevant securities to be allotted
after such expiry and the directors may allot relevant
securities in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the
power conferred hereby had not expired.
12. That the directors be and are hereby empowered, pursuant
to section 570 of the Companies Act 2006, to allot equity
securities (as defined in section 560 of that Act) pursuant
to the authority conferred by resolution 11 above or by
way of a sale of treasury shares as if section 561 of that
Act did not apply to any such allotment, provided that this
power shall be limited to the allotment of equity securities
for cash of an aggregate maximum nominal amount of
£1,081,175 (4,324,772 ordinary shares) and shall expire at
the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the
company held after the meeting at which this resolution
is passed or 1 July 2026, if earlier, save that the directors
may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which
would or might require equity securities to be allotted after
such expiry and the directors may allot equity securities
in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the power
conferred had not expired.
13. That the company be and is hereby generally and
unconditionally authorised in accordance with section
701 of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act) to make market
purchases (within the meaning of section 693(4) of the
Act) of ordinary shares of 25p each in the capital of the
company (ordinary shares) either for retention as treasury
shares or for cancellation, provided that:
(i) the maximum number of ordinary shares hereby
authorised to be purchased shall be 6,482,834;
(ii) the minimum price which may be paid for an ordinary
share is 25p;
(iii) the maximum price which may be paid for an ordinary
share is an amount equal to 105% of the average of the
middle market quotations for an ordinary share taken
from the London Stock Exchange Official List for the 5
business days immediately preceding the day on which
the ordinary share is purchased or such other amount
as may be specified by the London Stock Exchange
from time to time;
(iv) the authority hereby conferred shall expire at the
conclusion of the annual general meeting of the
company in 2026 or 1 July 2026 if earlier, unless such
authority is renewed prior to such time; and
(v) the company may make a contract to purchase
ordinary shares under the authority hereby conferred
prior to the expiry of such authority which will or may
be executed wholly or partly after the expiration of
such authority and may make a purchase of ordinary
shares pursuant to any such contract.
By order of the board
Kirsten Salt
Company Secretary
12 February 2025
199 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3TY
Notice of Meeting
INVESTOR INFORMATION
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
108
Notes:
The following notes explain your general rights as a
shareholder and your right to attend and vote at this Meeting
or to appoint someone else to vote on your behalf.
1. To be entitled to attend and vote at the Meeting (and for
the purpose of the determination by the company of the
number of votes they may cast), shareholders must be
registered in the register of members of the company at
close of trading on Monday 31 March 2025 (the record
date). Changes to the register of members after the
relevant deadline shall be disregarded in determining the
rights of any person to attend and vote at the Meeting.
2. Shareholders are entitled to appoint another person as
a proxy to exercise all or part of their rights to attend
and to speak and vote on their behalf at the Meeting. A
shareholder may appoint more than one proxy in relation
to the Meeting provided that each proxy is appointed to
exercise the rights attached to a different ordinary share or
ordinary shares held by that shareholder. A proxy need not
be a shareholder of the company.
3. A personalised form of proxy which may be used to make
such appointment and give proxy instructions accompanies
this Notice. If you do not have a form of proxy and believe
that you should have one, or if you require additional forms,
please contact the registrar of the company whose contact
details are provided in note 6 below.
4. In the case of joint holders, where more than one of
the joint holders purports to appoint a proxy, only the
appointment submitted by the most senior holder will be
accepted. Seniority is determined by the order in which
the names of the joint holders appear in the company’s
Register of Members in respect of the joint holding (the first
named being the most senior).
5. A vote withheld is not a vote in law, which means that the
vote will not be counted in the calculation of votes for
or against the resolution. If no voting indication is given,
your proxy will vote or abstain from voting at his or her
discretion. Your proxy will vote (or abstain from voting) as
he or she thinks fit in relation to any other matter which is
put before the Meeting.
6. To be valid, any form of proxy or other instrument
appointing a proxy, must be returned by no later than 12
noon on Monday 31 March 2025 through any one of the
following methods:
(i) by post, courier or (during normal business hours only)
hand to the company’s registrar at:
MUFG Corporate Markets
PXS1
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds
LS1 4DL
(ii) electronically through the website of the company’s
registrar at www.signalshares.com
(see note 8 below).
(iii) via LinkVote+ (see note 9 below).
(iv) via Proxymity (see note 10 below).
(v) in the case of shares held through CREST, via the CREST
system (see notes below).
7. If you return more than one proxy appointment, either
by paper or electronic communication, the appointment
received last by the Registrar before the latest time for the
receipt of proxies will take precedence. You are advised to
read the terms and conditions of use carefully. Electronic
communication facilities are open to all shareholders and
those who use them will not be disadvantaged.
8. To submit your proxy instructions electronically through the
company’s registrar, please complete the online form of
proxy by logging on to www.signalshares.com. If you have
not previously registered for the share portal you will need
your investor code (IVC) which is detailed on your share
certificate or is available by calling our Registrar, MUFG
Corporate Markets, on 0371 664 0300 or, if calling from
overseas, on +44 (0) 371 664 0300. Calls are charged at
the standard geographic rate and will vary by provider.
Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at
the applicable international rate. The Registrar is open
between 09:00 – 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public
holidays in England and Wales.
9. LinkVote+ is a free app for smartphone and tablet provided
by MUFG Corporate Markets (the company’s registrar).
It offers shareholders the option to submit a proxy
appointment quickly and easily online, as well as real-time
access to their shareholding records. The app is available
to download on both the Apple App Store and Google
Play. QR codes to facilitate this are shown below. Your
vote must be lodged by 12 noon on Monday 31 March
2025 in order to be considered valid or, if the meeting is
adjourned, by the time which is 48 hours before the time of
the adjourned meeting.
Apple App Store GooglePlay
10. If you are an institutional investor, you may be able to
appoint a proxy electronically via the Proxymity platform,
a process which has been agreed by the company
and approved by the Registrar. For further information
regarding Proxymity, please go to www.proxymity.io. Your
proxy must be lodged by 12 noon on Monday 31 March
2025 in order to be considered valid or, if the meeting is
adjourned, by the time which is 48 hours before the time
of the adjourned meeting. Before you can appoint a proxy
via this process you will need to have agreed to Proxymity’s
associated terms and conditions. It is important that you
read these carefully as you will be bound by them and they
will govern the electronic appointment of your proxy. An
electronic proxy appointment via the Proxymity platform
may be revoked completely by sending an authenticated
109
message via the platform instructing the removal of your
proxy vote.
11. The return of a completed form of proxy, electronic voting
online or via the app or any CREST Proxy Instruction (as
described in note 13 below) or the appointment of a proxy
via Proxymity will not prevent a shareholder from attending
the Meeting and voting in person if he/she wishes to do so.
12. CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies
through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service
may do so for the Meeting (and any adjournment of the
Meeting) by using the procedures described in the CREST
Manual (available from www.euroclear.com). CREST
Personal Members or other CREST sponsored members,
and those CREST members who have appointed a service
provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting
service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate
action on their behalf.
13. In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made
by means of CREST to be valid, the appropriate CREST
message (a ‘CREST Proxy Instruction’) must be properly
authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK &
International Limited’s specifications and must contain the
information required for such instructions, as described
in the CREST Manual. The message must be transmitted
so as to be received by the issuer’s agent (ID RA10) by
12 noon on Monday 31 March 2025. For this purpose,
the time of receipt will be taken to mean the time (as
determined by the timestamp applied to the message by
the CREST application host) from which the issuer’s agent
is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the
manner prescribed by CREST. After this time, any change of
instructions to proxies appointed through CREST should be
communicated to the appointee through other means.
14. CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST
sponsors or voting service providers should note that
Euroclear UK & International Limited does not make
available special procedures in CREST for any particular
message. Normal system timings and limitations will,
therefore, apply in relation to the input of CREST Proxy
Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member
concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is a CREST
personal member, or sponsored member, or has appointed
a voting service provider(s), to procure that his CREST
sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as
shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted
by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In
this connection, CREST members and, where applicable,
their CREST sponsors or voting system providers are
referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST
Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST
system and timings. The company may treat as invalid
a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out
in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities
Regulations 2001.
15. Unless otherwise indicated on the Form of Proxy, CREST
voting, Proxymity or any other electronic voting channel
instruction, the proxy will vote as they think fit or, at their
discretion, withhold from voting.
16. Corporate representatives are entitled to attend and vote
on behalf of the corporate member in accordance with
section 323 of the Companies Act 2006. Pursuant to the
Companies (Shareholders’ Rights) Regulations 2009 (SI
2009/1632), multiple corporate representatives appointed
by the same corporate member can vote in different ways
provided they are voting in respect of different shares.
17. As at 12 February 2025, (being the latest practicable
business day prior to the publication of this Notice), the
total number of shares in the company in respect of
which members are entitled to exercise voting rights was
43,247,727 ordinary shares, of 25p each. Each ordinary
share carries the right to one vote and therefore the total
number of voting rights in the company on 12 February
2025 is 43,247,727. The 5% cumulative preference shares
do not ordinarily have any voting rights.
18. The right to appoint a proxy does not apply to persons
whose shares are held on their behalf by another person
and who have been nominated to receive communications
from the company in accordance with section 146 of the
Companies Act 2006 (nominated persons). Nominated
persons may have a right under an agreement with the
registered shareholder who holds the shares on their behalf
to be appointed (or to have someone else appointed) as
a proxy. Alternatively, if nominated persons do not have
such a right, or do not wish to exercise it, they may have
a right under such an agreement to give instructions to
the person holding the shares as to the exercise of voting
rights. Nominated persons should contact the registered
member by whom they were nominated in respect of
these arrangements.
19. Members have a right under section 319A of the
Companies Act 2006 to require the company to answer any
question raised by a member at the AGM, which relates to
the business being dealt with at the meeting, although no
answer need be given: (a) if to do so would interfere unduly
with the preparation of the meeting or involve disclosure of
confidential information; (b) if the answer has already been
given on the company’s website; or (c) it is undesirable
in the best interests of the company or the good order of
the meeting.
20. Members satisfying the thresholds in section 527 of the
Companies Act 2006 can require the company, at its
expense, to publish a statement on the company website
setting out any matter which relates to the audit of the
company’s financial statements that are to be laid before
the meeting. Any such statement must also be sent to
the company’s auditor no later than the time it is made
available on the website and must be included in the
business of the meeting.
21. Any shareholder attending the Meeting has the right to
ask questions. The company must cause to be answered
any such question relating to the business being dealt
with at the Meeting but no such answer need be given if:
(a) to do so would interfere unduly with the preparation
for the Meeting or involve the disclosure of confidential
information; (b) the answer has already been given on a
website in the form of an answer to a question; or (c) it is
INVESTOR INFORMATION
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
110
undesirable in the interests of the company or the good
order of the Meeting that the question be answered.
22. Further information regarding the meeting which the
company is required by section 311A of the Companies Act
2006 to publish on a website in advance of the meeting
(including this notice), can be accessed at brunner.co.uk.
23. Contracts of services are not entered into with the directors,
who hold office in accordance with the Articles.
111
UK GAAP performance measures
Net Asset Value is the value of total assets less all liabilities. The Net Asset Value, or NAV, per ordinary share is calculated by
dividing this amount by the total number of ordinary shares in issue. The debt in the company used in the calculation is measured
at par value, that is, the net proceeds on issue plus accrued finance costs to date. As at 30 November 2024, the NAV with debt at
par value was £618,182,360 (2023: £528,209,759) and the NAV per share was 1,438.8p (2023: 1,237.2p).
Earnings per ordinary share is the profit after taxation, divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue for the period.
For the year ended 30 November 2024 earnings per ordinary share was 27.37p (2023: 26.35p), calculated by taking the profit
after tax of £11,685,745 (2023: £11,251,047), divided by the weighted average shares in issue of 42,701,544 (2023: 42,692,727).
Alternative Performance Measures (APMs)
Net Asset Value, debt at fair value is the value of total assets less all liabilities, with the company’s debt measured at the fair
value at the time of calculation. The Net Asset Value, or NAV, per ordinary share with debt at fair value is calculated by dividing this
amount by the total number of ordinary shares in issue (see page 96). As at 30 November 2024, the NAV with debt at fair value
was £627,111,895 (2023: £537,307,615) and the NAV per share with debt at fair value was 1,459.6p (2023: 1,258.6p). (Further
details can be found in Note 15(c) on page 100).
Net Asset Value per ordinary share, total return represents the theoretical return on NAV per ordinary share, assuming that
dividends paid to shareholders were reinvested at the NAV per ordinary share at the close of business on the day the shares were
quoted ex dividend (see Note 13 on page 96).
Share price Total Return the theoretical return to a shareholder, on a closing market price basis, assuming that all dividends
received were reinvested, without transaction costs, into the ordinary shares of the company at the close of business on the day the
shares were quoted ex dividend (see page 3). The share price as at 30 November 2024 was 1,460.0p, an increase of 395.0p
from the price of 1,065.0p as at 30 November 2023. The increase in share price of 395.0p plus the dividends declared for the
year of 23.75p are divided by the opening share price of 1065.0p to arrive at the share price total return for the year ended 30
November 2024 of +39.3% (2023: +6.6%).
Benchmark Total Return is the return on the benchmark, on a closing market price basis, assuming that all dividends received
were reinvested into the shares of the underlying companies at the time their shares were quoted ex dividend (see page 3).
Discount or premium is the amount by which the stock market price per ordinary share is lower (discount) or higher (premium)
than the Net Asset Value, or NAV, with either debt at par or debt at market value, per ordinary share. The discount/premium is
normally expressed as a percentage of the NAV per ordinary share (see page 2).
Ongoing charges are operating expenses incurred in the running of the company, whether charged to revenue or capital, but
excluding financing costs. These are expressed as a percentage of the average Net Asset Value during the year and this is
calculated in accordance with guidance issued by the Association of Investment Companies (see page 17).
2024
£
2023
£
Management fee 2,741,770 2,389,770
Administration expenses 954,818 855,035
Total expenses (A) 3,696,588 3,244,805
Average Net Asset Value with debt at market value (B) 585,576,405 507,451,778
Ongoing charge (A/B) 0.63% 0.64%
The ongoing charge differs from the ongoing charge in the company’s KID, which is calculated in accordance with the PRIIPs
regulations and includes finance costs.
Yield represents dividends declared in the past year as a percentage of share price.
Glossary
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THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
112
2024 2023
Dividends declared for the year 23.75p 22.7p
Share price at year end 1,460.0p 1,065.0p
Annual dividend as a percentage of share price 1.6% 2.1%
Gearing is the amount of debt as a percentage of the net assets (see Note 16 on page 101).
Revenue reserve per ordinary share of 33.0p (2023: 29.6p) is the revenue reserve per the balance sheet of £19,278,342 (2023:
£17,579,243) less the third dividend and final proposed dividend in respect of the year (Note 6) of £5,118,177 (2023: £4,952,356),
payable after the year end, divided by the total number of ordinary shares in issue of 42,963,736 (2023: 42,692,727).
Warning to Shareholders
We are aware that some shareholders may have received unsolicited telephone calls or correspondence concerning
investment matters. These are typically from overseas based organisations who target UK shareholders offering to sell them,
what often turn out to be, worthless or high risk shares in US or UK investments or encourage them to dispose of UK shares.
They can be extremely persistent and persuasive. Shareholders are therefore advised to be very wary of any unsolicited
advice or offers.
Please note that it is most unlikely that either the company or the company’s Registrar, MUFG Corporate Markets (formerly
Link Group), would make unsolicited telephone calls to shareholders. Any such calls would only ever relate to official
documentation already circulated to shareholders and never in respect of investment ‘advice’.
If you are in any doubt about the veracity of an unsolicited telephone call, please call the Company Secretary on +44 (0)800
389 4696 or the Registrar on +44 (0) 371 664 0300.
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024
1
The Brunner Investment Trust PLC
199 Bishopsgate
London
EC2M 3TY
+44 (0)203 246 7000
www.brunner.co.uk
THE BRUNNER INVESTMENT TRUST PLC ANNUAL REPORT 30 NOVEMBER 2024