Discounts to NAV continue to widen

Substantial buyback activity in the first few months of 2003 has failed to narrow discounts to NAV in the six months to the end of April. AITC statistics show while 18 investment trust sectors saw some tightening in their discounts over the period, another 18 experienced widening in their discount to NAV. The small-cap peer groups were among the key sectors in which widening occured, while tightening was centred on income-focused sectors. In the Global Growth sector, the average weighted discount widened from 10.8% on 4 October 2002 to 11.7% on 30 April this year, still down from the...