Jupiter Green

Jupiter Green

JGC’s fundamental story continues to show resilience, but the discount remains wide…

Jupiter Green

Macro events have boosted JGC’s story, but pulled down valuations leaving a potential opportunity...

You say tomato...

Do it yourself or put it into a global fund and leave it to the experts - our analyst debate the merits of each approach

Jupiter Green - Overview

Jupiter Green (JGC) has shifted its investment focus towards targeting smaller and more innovative companies (see Portfolio), arguably making it a more interesting proposition for all kinds of long-term investors. The new lead manager, Jon Wallace, has been working on the trust since 2014, ensuring a smooth transition when he took the reins in January 2021. Jon is using JGC’s ability to be nimble (net assets of £63m) by investing at the smaller end of the market cap spectrum to access the most

Holding back the tears

Was COP26 a success or failure? In many ways it is irrelevant. Alok Sharma may have been upset at the last-minute watering down of the final text of COP26. However, its success cannot be attributed to the choice of words settled on at the end. The COP26 conference final agreement is clearly important, but its legacy is likely to be so much more.

Gone with the wind

Over the course of the last 18 months the world has been battling a crippling pandemic, but thanks to the remarkably fast development of vaccines, the recovery is very much under way. However, a potential threat to this recovery is the alarming rise in energy costs which is being experienced by a number of countries. We would argue that this highlights that there will still be investment opportunities in fossil fuels over the next few years, as well as in the technologies allowing them to be use

Bargains galore

We last updated our discounted opportunities portfolio in July. Since then markets have been grinding higher but discounts have not moved – and perhaps slightly widened. We think readers will largely agree that it is hard to have conviction about the direction of markets and leadership at the moment, which may explain the static picture regarding discounts. At a directional level, the easy gains in the recovery have been made, and government support schemes have still to be wound down, creating

Green is good!

Policymakers have arguably kept their heads in the sand over the threat from global warming, but 2021 seemingly marked a watershed moment. Looking for ways to stimulate economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers have responded with the promise of an unprecedented influx of fiscal stimulus, one of the focuses of which is the sustainability of the infrastructure of developed economies. One of the largest investment opportunities appears to be in renewable energy, both via the con

Jupiter Green

Jupiter Green (JGC) has had a well-timed shift of its investment focus, targeting smaller and more innovative companies (Portfolio). The new lead manager, Jon Wallace, has been working on the trust since 2014, which has ensured a smooth transition. The change in emphasis on the size and growth prospects of the underlying companies has already brought results in terms of strong absolute performance since September 2020, and (as discussed in Discount) a premium rating has been established, allowin

Morning Note – 22 April 2024

Benefits of scale set to materialise

Frenkel Topping - Resilient with strong growth potential

FY 2023 was a challenging year for Frenkel with higher interest rates encouraging clients to place money into lower margin money market funds. Despite this, sales grew +32% (supported by recurring revenue +9% and +51% in non-recurring), EBIT margins remained strong at 22% and adj. EPS grew +17% (taking into account the higher number of shares). FY 2024 has seen a solid start to transactional business and there is a strong pipeline of new FUM opportunities both of which support further growth. Wi

Bluefield Solar Income Fund – Fundamentals shine despite discount

The manger comments that, in common with the other trusts in the renewable energy sector, the last six months have continued what has been a challenging period for the Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF). It adds that the trust’s ongoing fundamental performance has failed to reverse a steady slide in its share price which began back in May 2023. Despite this, it says the company has continued to deliver solid NAV growth and market-leading shareholder distributions thanks to a range of contractual

LSL Property Services (LSL LN) - Transformation & market recovery

2023 results are, as indicated in its February pre-close update, “slightly ahead of market expectations”. Current trading continues to improve, with 1Q24 underlying operating profit up yoy, “reflecting the benefits of the Group’s transformation programme completed in 2023 as well as improving market conditions.” With net cash of £35m at end 2023, the Board approved 7.4p final DPS and £7m buy back.

S&U - PBT ahead, encouraging volume trends

S&U reported FY24 PBT of £33.6m, down from £41.4m in FY23 on higher funding and regulatory costs and higher impairments in Advantage in H2. PBT was 2% ahead of our forecast as stronger revenues – up 12% to £115.4m – and better costs offset higher-than-expected impairments. Net receivables grew to a record at both Advantage and Aspen and management noted particular strength in Q4 and a good trading environment in the current year. Having absorbed a significant rise in funding cost as well as addi

Henderson Far East Income - Repositioning to raise total returns

Henderson Far East Income (HFEL) has consistently delivered on its objective to provide a rising dividend. However, like many investors, HFEL’s managers overestimated the potential for a post-pandemic rebound in China. The trust’s resultant overweight to Chinese consumer and other cyclicals led to a fall in portfolio revenues and underperformance in the financial year ended 31 August 2023 (FY23). With a view to improving future returns, HFEL’s board has since indicated an increased willingness t

Hardman & Co Insight: 2023 was an annus horribilis for Quoted UK Infrastructure and Renewable Energy

The focus of Hardman & Co Research is on the nine quoted Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and on the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs): the stocks analysed are all members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). We are updating our publication of January 2023, assessing both the lacklustre share price performances during 2023 and the key issues, including interest rates, inflation and power prices. As a 31-strong group, its combined market capitalisation is no

Foresight Solar Fund - Termination of coverage

Edison Investment Research is terminating coverage on ABC Arbitrage (ABCA), paragon (PGN), Foresight Solar Fund (FSFL), Kendrion (KENDR), Lithium Power International (LPI), Triple Point Energy Transition (TENT), 4iG (4IG), e-therapeutics (ETX), Pharnext (ALPHA) and Shield Therapeutics (STX). Please note you should no longer rely on any previous research or estimates for this company. All forecasts should now be considered redundant. Previously published reports can still be accessed via our web

LIBERUM: PensionBee: Strong start to the new financial year

International Public Partnerships - Consistently and responsibly delivering

International Public Partnerships’ (INPP’s) FY23 results show that it continues to deliver consistent and predictable returns for investors, while delivering environmental and social benefits for the individuals and communities that are served by its assets. Despite this strong performance and a substantial need for private infrastructure funding, the macroeconomic environment has weighed on INPP’s share price, in common with the wider sector. Regardless, attractive returns are available from th

LIBERUM: NewRiver: Q4 trading update: Continued operational momentum

Regional REIT - Performing as expected ahead of refinancing

In a challenging market, Regional REIT’s (RGL’s) FY23 operational and financial performance was robust, in line with expectations and previous guidance. Investor focus remains on the company’s loan to value (LTV) reduction and bond refinancing plans, explored in detail in our previous note and RGL will provide an update on this in due course.

Witan

Business as usual for WTAN’s executive team, while the board reviews investment management arrangements…

LIBERUM: PayPoint: On track for £100m of EBITDA in FY 26