Title: URL Source: https://is.gd/SP8FuV Published Time: Mon, 12 May 2025 13:20:06 GMT Markdown Content: This document is issued by Aberforth Partners LLP – authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK # Aberforth Geared Value & Income Trust plc Monthly Factsheet # 30 April 2025 ## Fund structure The Fund is a closed ended investment company with a planned life to 30 June 2031. Its Ordinary shares (Ord) and Zero Dividend Preference shares (ZDP) are listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Manager: Aberforth Partners The Fund is managed by Aberforth’s investment team of six fund managers: Sam Ford Jeremy Hall Euan Macdonald Rowan Marron Rob Scott Moncrieff Peter Shaw Further information on the investment team is available at www.aberforth.co.uk. Investment universe: DNSCI (XIC) The Fund’s primary investment universe is the Deutsche Numis Smaller Companies Index (excluding Investment Companies). This index is rebalanced every January and its profile at the date of this Factsheet was: Number of companies 346 Total market value £148bn Largest constituent £2.7bn Largest constituent if index rebalanced at Factsheet date £2.0bn Key Fund information Total investments £131m Number of investments 68 Active share 80.3% Gearing - ZDP shares £42m Net gearing 43.2% Total net assets £92m Ord share NAV 85.40p Ord share price 72.00p Ord discount/(premium) 15.7% ZDP share NAV (Accounts basis) 104.95p ZDP share price 106.00p ZDP discount/(premium) (-1.0)% Fees & charges Management fee* (12m to 30 Jun 24) 0.75% Performance fee None Ongoing charges N/A (less than 12m since launch on 1 Jul 24) * Further details of the Management fee are available at www.aberforth.co.uk. # Objective The Fund’s objective is to provide Ordinary (Ord) shareholders with high total returns incorporating an attractive level of income, and to provide Zero Dividend Preference (ZDP) shareholders with a pre-determined final capital entitlement of 160.58p on the planned winding up of the Company expected to occur on 30 June 2031. It is the Directors’ current intention that, in the absence of unforeseen circumstances, the Fund will declare dividends in the range of 4.0 and 5.0 pence per Ord share in respect of the initial period to 30 June 2025. Full details of the Fund’s Dividend Policy are available at www.aberforth.co.uk. Further information on the Fund, including the Key Information Document, is available on request or via the Aberforth website www.aberforth.co.uk. # Investment style: Value Aberforth are value investors who buy shares in companies that they calculate to be selling below their intrinsic value. This is determined through detailed financial and industrial analysis, combined with a valuation approach that focuses on both stockmarket and corporate worth. # Investment performance In accordance with the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), investment performance information will be shown here once the Fund has a full 12-month period of performance history. # Monthly investment commentary: April FCA rules restrict the description of investment performance in the first twelve months of a Fund’s life. April opened with the ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcements. This prompted significant volatility across already nervy financial markets. US treasuries, oil and the dollar fell. Gold continued its ascent. Equity markets recovered some poise later in the month after initial sharp declines. Overall, UK stocks performed broadly in-line with global benchmarks - the FTSE All-Share fell 0.2% in the month. Small companies made up some of the underperformance established against large so far this year. The Fund’s opportunity set, the DNSCI (XIC), rose 3.5%. The Fund itself participated in the rise but was held back by its high weighting in the more attractively valued “smaller small” companies. The market de-rated companies deemed to have the high exposure to the direct and indirect effects of the trade wars. Fitting this theme were holdings in the industrial business such as Vesuvius , Bodycote and TT Electronics ,which has a large production facility in China. PageGroup pointed to further uncertainty in the recruitment market with its first quarter trading update. Quilter , a proxy for overall stockmarket levels, was weak on the back of the general sell-off. However, its trading update later in the month reported continued positive business momentum. Among the largest positive contributors were Halfords , Card Factory , Galliford Try and FirstGroup . Halfords and FirstGroup reported good trading in their year-end updates. All four companies benefited from the market’s reappraisal of domestic earnings exposure in light of the uncertainty elsewhere. CMC Markets , which is usually a beneficiary of heightened market volatility, was another winner. # Top 10 equity investments Name Activity % Vesuvius Metal flow engineering 3.9 Bakkavor Group Food manufacturer 3.1 Rathbones Group Wealth Management 2.8 MONY Group Price comparison websites 2.8 Smiths News Newspaper distribution 2.6 PayPoint Alternative payment services 2.5 Quilter Wealth management 2.5 Kenmare Resources Miner of titanium minerals 2.4 FirstGroup Bus & rail operator 2.4 Wilmington Business information & training 2.4 This document is issued by Aberforth Partners LLP – authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK ## Aberforth Geared Value & Income Trust plc Monthly Factsheet 30 April 2025 # Sector exposure Size exposure # Gearing The Fund’s Ord shares are geared by the capital entitlement of the ZDP shares which will rise continuously until the planned winding up date of 30 June 2031. The net gearing figure shown in the Key Fund information section is the percentage by which the total value of investments exceeds the total net assets. # Hurdle rates & redemption yields The Fund’s latest hurdle rates and redemption yields are available from the ZDP Analytics section of the AIC website at www.theaic.co.uk. # Data sources & calculations All data supplied by Aberforth, except DNSCI (XIC) data (from Deutsche Numis/Paul Marsh and Elroy Dimson – London Business School) and FTSE data (from FTSE International Limited). Performance returns are total returns after all expenses and assume reinvestment of dividends. Yield is based on the Fund’s trailing 12 months' dividends (excluding Specials). Active share is a measure of how the Fund’s portfolio differs from the DNSCI (XIC). Small companies are represented by the DNSCI (XIC). Large companies are represented by the FTAS. # Security codes & other information Ord shares ZDP shares Other information SEDOL: BPJMQ25 SEDOL: BPJMQ36 Launched: 1 Jul 24 ISIN: GB00BPJMQ253 ISIN: GB00BPJMQ360 Next year-end: 30 Jun 25 TIDM: AGVI TIDM: AGZI LEI: 2138006A8FCYYWSJKE32 Shares in issue: 107,331,000 Shares in issue: 40,249,000 Planned winding-up: 30 Jun 31 Market value: £77m Market value: £43m # Subscribe & contact If you wish to subscribe to this Factsheet, or have any queries regarding its content, please contact Aberforth’s Investor Support team: (T) 0131 220 0733 (E) investors@aberforth.co.uk # Risk warnings Capital may be at risk as the value of investments may go down as well as up and is not guaranteed; therefore investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance, nor a reliable indicator of future results or performance. Investments in shares of smaller companies are generally considered to carry a higher degree of risk as the market for their shares may be less liquid than that for shares of larger companies, making shares of smaller companies more difficult to buy and sell. The performance of shares of smaller companies may be more volatile than the shares of larger companies over short time periods; therefore investors should regard such investments as long term. There can be no guarantee that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved or provide the dividends and returns sought by the Fund. An investment in the Fund is only suitable for investors who are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses which may arise from such an investment (which may be equal to the whole amount invested). Such an investment should be regarded as long term in nature and complementary to existing investments in a range of other financial assets and should not form a major part of an investment portfolio. An investment trust is a public limited company, the shares of which are traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Accordingly, the ability of shareholders to sell their shares will be dependent on the market price of the shares. The shares may trade at a discount or premium to their net asset value. Investment trusts may borrow money in order to make further investments. This is known as gearing. The effect of gearing can enhance returns to shareholders in rising markets but will have the opposite effect on returns in falling markets. The Fund’s Ordinary shares (Ords) are geared by the Zero Dividend Preference shares (ZDPs) and rank for repayment of capital after the ZDPs and any creditors of the Fund. A positive net asset value for the Ords will be dependent upon the Fund's assets being sufficient to meet the prior capital entitlements of the holders of the ZDPs. The Ords should therefore be regarded as carrying above average risk. The ZDPs are not a protected or guaranteed investment. In particular, should the Fund be wound up prior to its planned winding up date, holders of ZDPs would only receive their accrued capital entitlement to the date of winding up - which would be less than the final anticipated capital entitlement of the ZDPs. Aberforth Partners LLP does not provide retail investors with investment advice. This document has been issued for information purposes only. It does not contain any investment recommendations or an invitation to invest in the Fund. Investors should seek advice from an authorised financial adviser prior to making investment decisions. FTSE® is a trade mark of the London Stock Exchange Group companies and is used by FTSE International Limited under licence. All rights in the FTSE indices and/or FTSE ratings vest in FTSE and/or its licensors. Neither FTSE nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the FTSE indices and/or FTSE ratings or underlying data and no party may rely on any FTSE indices, ratings and/or underlying data contained in this communication. No further distribution of FTSE data is permitted without FTSE’s express written consent. FTSE does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication. 07022 721 32 3 60 13 5 318 11 18 25 6 72 3 010 20 30 40 Weighting (%) Fund DNSCI (XIC) > 53 39 2680 14 15 020 40 60 80 100 FTSE 250 FTSE SmallCap FTSE Fledgling Other Exposure (%) Fund DNSCI (XIC)