JPMORGAN EUROPEAN DISCOVERY TRUST PLC (JEDT)

JPMORGAN EUROPEAN DISCOVERY TRUST PLC (JEDT)

Previously known as:
Previous Name: JPMORGAN EURO SMALL CO. TRUST PLC
Previous TIDM: JESC

Blog posts

Platform Transfer Finally Completed and Pointless Trust Changes

Good News! A transfer of one of my SIPPs from one platform to another has finally been completed today (22nd June). I initiated the transfer on the 12th January this year so this has actually taken over 5 months. A totally unreasonable period of time for what should have been a simple transfer of cash and a few direct shareholdings of UK listed crest stocks. However their failure to collect the tax refunds on PID dividends on some of the holdings ...

Electronic AGMs and Voting

Several companies in which I hold shares are proposing to adopt new Articles of Association at their Annual General Meetings. These typically are amended to enable the holding of “virtual”, i.e. electronic ones, or “hybrid” meetings where a physical venue (or multiple ones) are also used. They can do that legally at present under the emergency regulations put in place by the Government but they are clearly anticipating a more common use of such capabilities now that everyone is more practised ...

JESC and WPCT – Much in Common

Last week I received the Annual Report of JP Morgan European Smaller Companies Trust (JESC) which I have held since 2012. It has a good long-term performance but last year was disappointing. Net asset value return of minus 7.5% which is worse than their benchmark of minus 3.6%. The share price did even worse and it is now on a discount to NAV of nearly 15% as the discount has widened. The under-performance was attributed to poor stock selection. The Chairman, Carolan ...

AGM Reports

JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Trust (JESC) AGM Report 2014

Are investment trusts boring vehicles that investors who want to "buy and forget" invest in, but where you might expect performance to be somewhat pedestrian? Well consider the performance of the above mentioned company last year. Total return was 43.6% to the year ending in March which most investors would find difficulty in beating. Of course small cap stocks were a favourite of investors last year and the European economies and their associated markets recovered. The company did not have as ...

JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Trust (JESC) AGM Report 2012

This investment trust held its Annual General Meeting on the 18th July. Although the company has a reasonably good long term track record, last year was disappointing. The European Smaller Companies sector was down by 19.6% based on the benchmark used, but JESC was down by 21.3%. This kind of performance is not surprising when a manager has a “growth” focus and a market is out of favour. At such times, defensive stocks tend to outperform, and growth stocks underperform. Their ...