Securities Trust of Scotland (STS) aims to generate income and long-term capital growth through a bottom-up approach to investing in global equities. The manager, Mark Whitehead, focuses on quality companies with an ability to sustain dividend growth, to build a relatively concentrated portfolio of 35–55 high-conviction stocks. In his view, this approach is naturally aligned with selecting companies that score highly on ESG issues. Since Whitehead’s appointment, and the adoption of the mandate, STS has delivered an annualised NAV total return of 12.9% and increased demand for its shares the valuation from trading at a persistent discount to trading at a premium to NAV.
