City of London trust maintains share price premium despite underperforming UK market

NAV total returns of 4.5%

The City of London (CTY) investment trust failed to beat the UK market in the year to the end of June 2023, but shares remain in demand, with the trust standing as one of the few in the market trading on a premium.

According to the £2bn trust's annual results, net asset value total returns stood at 4.5%, trailing behind the FTSE All Share index's total return of 7.9%, with stock selection cited as the primary driver of underperformance.  CTY's premium grew from 2.5% in 2022 to 3.1% during the reported period, although it has reduced to 0.5% at the time of writing, according to data from the Association of Investment Companies.  City of London is part of a small cohort of investment trusts in the AIC UK Equity Income sector trading at a premium, which also includes Chelverton UK Dividend, Law Deb...