Considering Investment Trust investment

On the subject of CTY, it's continually rated a top trust by Morningstar. Their latest analyst research from November last year is below:

The City of London Investment Trust Plc

City of London remains a highly compelling option for investors.

There are several reasons we have such conviction in the fund. Job Curtis has been at the helm for 25 years, a length of tenure that’s rare to see. His involvement with the fund dates to his time at Touche Remnant, which was acquired by Henderson in 1992, although he officially took charge of the fund in July 1991.

Not only has the management been consistent but the process used by Curtis is also little changed over that time. “Conservative” is a moniker that permeates through the management of the trust, and Curtis is naturally a cautious investor. This caution has served shareholders well over the years. He doesn’t ignore the macro picture, but the bulk of his analysis is done from the bottom up. A company’s cash generation and physical assets are important in his analysis, but the primary driver for a stock to enter the portfolio is dividend yield, and this focus on income as a measure of a company’s value has been paramount in the fund’s success.

The prudent and measured approach to portfolio management here has resulted in outperformance over most time frames. Indeed, over Curtis’ tenure since 1991, the fund has returned an annualised 9.3%, some 80 basis points more than the FTSE All-Share and around 190 basis points ahead of the peer group over this period. The fund has quite a low active share score and historical tracking error, suggesting outperformance has been generated through relatively small incremental positions, rather than by aggressive sector and stock positioning. The focus on well-managed companies with a commitment to their dividends had also enabled the fund to increase its dividend in each of the 50 years, which is a real feather in the cap for the fund manager and board.

Another plus is the board’s approach to discount and premium management. While there is no firm rule in place, the board will issue shares when the fund trades at a premium to its net asset value, as we have seen for some time now, but they will also buy back shares when the fund trades at a sustained and material discount. We take comfort in the fact the board has demonstrated its approach clearly and thus kept discount volatility muted, and we think shareholders should be reassured by this.

Finally, and most crucially, investors benefit from the very low costs associated with this fund. With ongoing charges for financial year-end 2016 of 0.42%, the board has made good with its avowed intent to have amongst the lowest fees available for any investment trust.

In summary, we believe the combination of experienced and stable management, consistent process, exceptionally low fees, and focus on dividend generation contribute to make this one of the most compelling options of its kind.

We are pleased to reiterate the Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold.

Role in Portfolio
The fund provides investors with core UK equity exposure. It offers the prospect of longer-term growth in capital and income, the dividend here has been raised for 50 consecutive years. The manager’s cautious approach and focus on limiting downside risk makes it especially suitable for those investors with less tolerance for risk, although they should still broadly expect equity volatility here.

Executive Summary
Process: Curtis’ process favours caution, and income is of paramount importance in his decision-making. This leads to a portfolio biased toward large caps but not to the exclusion of smaller names or overseas opportunities, which are limited to 20%.

NAV Performance: The fund has performed well over the short, medium, and long term under Curtis’ stewardship, beating both its peers and the FTSE All-Share. He has achieved this without taking excess levels of risk.

People: Job Curtis is a long-standing veteran of Henderson. He has managed investment trusts since 1987 and this trust since July 1991. He is supported by a stable team with some exceptional depth of experience within it.

Parent: An acquisition-led period for Henderson has given it a platform for its rising retail ambitions.

Board: The board under the chairmanship of Philip Remnant comprises a good range of skills and experiences. All directors own shares in the fund, which we like to see as we feel it aligns their interests with those of the investor.

Fees: The fund is highly competitively priced with one of the lowest ongoing charges of any investment trust (2016: 0.42%). Our analysis identifies this as one of the most important drivers for long-term investor returns.

I haven't - is the article online?

It doesn't appear to be unfortunately.

It does mention Mark Barnett's Edinburgh Investment Trust and Invesco Perpetual Investment and Growth Investment Trust.

ColdIron wrote: »

If you have a MyWaitrose card you could spend an hour reading your free Sunday Telegraph with your free coffee

There speaks a true MSE'er.

:beer:

badger09 wrote: »

Surely a true MSEer would shop at Aldi rather than Waitrose, then walk home and make his own coffee;)

I don't think ColdIron said anything about shopping.