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Monks Investment Trust PLC on Thursday said first-half performance beat its benchmark, amid market conditions shaped by US sentiment and a shifting technology landscape. The London-based investor in ‘high-quality, immature companies’ is managed by Baillie Gifford & Co. Assuming borrowings at fair value, the firm’s net asset value total return was 29% in the six months ended October 31, ahead of the 24% returned by its comparator, the FTSE World index in sterling. Monks Investment reported a NAV total return of 21.5% over the past year, just ahead of 21.0% for the index. NAV per share with borrowings at fair value amounted to 1,634.5 pence at the end of October, up from 1,265.2p at April 30. The company’s shares traded marginally higher at 1,438.66p early Thursday afternoon in London. Military drone maker AeroVironment Inc was the first half’s top performer, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ‘contributed meaningfully’ on the back of ‘insatiable AI demand’. Insurer Elevance Health Inc dragged on performance as higher costs offset revenue growth. Monks Investment acknowledged underexposure to Alphabet Inc, and the absence of shares in Broadcom Inc or Tesla Inc, as technology stocks climbed during the period. Still, the investment firm maintained: ‘These are deliberate choices and reflect the quality of return opportunity we can see elsewhere in the portfolio.’ ‘We retain a deep conviction that many technological trends can be relied upon to continue apace, independent of the political environment or the specifics of economic policy. AI may well be the single most important growth engine for the portfolio over the next decade,’ Monks Investment said. It estimated that ‘just over 30% of the Monks portfolio is exposed to the AI value chain,’ and argued that the firm is ‘at an earlier stage of research on AI-native enterprises.’ Also on Thursday, Monks Investment promoted Stacey Parrinder-Johnson to senior independent director starting January 1. She will succeed Belinda Richards, who plans to retire in September, the firm said. Parrinder-Johnson has served as an independent non-executive director since March 2024. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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