Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust (SST) was launched in 1995, aiming to generate long-term capital growth from a portfolio of small-cap Asian equities (excluding Japan and Australasia). When Wee-Li Hee returns from maternity leave in July 2017, she will assume the role of co-manager; interim lead manager Vinay Agarwal has become lead manager on a permanent basis. SST’s board has been strengthened with the March 2017 appointment of Jeremy Whitley as a non-executive director. While the trust’s focus on preserving capital led to underperformance versus the benchmark and peers in 2016 (which was a year characterised by strong equity returns), SST’s longer-term performance record remains intact. It has outperformed its benchmark and the peer group average over five and 10 years.