'Encouraging start' for Alliance Trust following restructure though analysts concerned by 'black-box drawback'

One year into raft of changes

The £2.5bn Alliance Trust board has said 2017 was a "transformational year" as it introduced its new investment structure and multi-manager approach, though analysts at Numis Securites remain concerned about lack of disclosure of the underlying performance of its individual managers.

In its full-year results to 31 December, the trust has returned 19.2% alongside a net asset value (NAV) total return of 15.5%, compared with its MSCI All Country World Index benchmark return of 13.8%. The trust announced a total dividend of 13.16p for the year, up 3% on the previous year and building onto its 50-year track record of dividend growth. Chairman of the board, Lord Smith of Kelvin, said: "This has been a transformational year for the trust. We implemented our new investment approach - a global alliance of high-conviction equity managers - on 1 April 2017 and, in its early ...