Edinburgh Investment disappoints with results

EDINBURGH Investment Trust, the £1 billion fund managed by London-based Fidelity, saw its net asset value fall by 14.8 per cent – a poor performance against the 10.8 per cent slide in its benchmark index, the FTSE All-Share.

The fund, which has been managed by Fidelity since August 2002, said there had been weakness in banking, building and consumer stocks as investor concerns spread from financial sectors to the broader economy in the year to 31 March.

Chairman Scott Dobbie told shareholders in a statement: "Although your company, in common with most funds with an income bias, did not this year meet its capital objective, it has, over the last three years as a whole, achieved a total return of dividends received and share price growth of 38.8 per cent – this compares to 31.3 per cent for the benchmark index and is greater than any other of its AIC UK Growth and Income peer group."

The trust added it was confident it could increase dividends next year, but added that the rate of growth of the dividends was likely to be reduced.