Hansa Trust
Finding opportunities away from the mainstream
12 July 2019
Hansa Trust (HAN/HANA) is arguably unique in its sector, with a portfolio made up of global equities, regional and thematic funds, diversifying (mainly hedge) funds and a large strategic position in Ocean Wilsons Holdings (OWHL), which in turn has a majority stake in Brazilian maritime services company Wilson Sons (WSON). Lead Manager Alec Letchfield’s focus on capital preservation as well as growth has enabled the portfolio to outperform UK and global equity indices in the recent stock market volatility, with new holdings such as Selwood Asset Management Liquid Credit Strategy already having a positive impact. The trust has recently published proposals to redomicile to Bermuda (see Recent developments). MORE »
Preserving capital with less correlated returns
31 January 2019
Hansa Trust (HAN/HANA) benefited from the diversification of its portfolio in 2018, with its strategic holding in Brazilian maritime services firm Wilson Sons (WSON) and its defensive allocation to hedge funds helping it to post a small positive NAV return, in contrast to most world equity markets. Fund Manager Alec Letchfield is mindful of the challenges facing the global economy in the year ahead, but remains cautiously optimistic for a more positive investment backdrop. Letchfield has transitioned Hansa Trust to a more dynamic approach over the past five years, and the portfolio is now made up of five principal segments: Ocean Wilsons Holdings (OWHL, which includes the WSON stake); core regional funds; thematic funds; diversifying funds (including hedge funds); and direct global equities. As Hansa Trust and OWHL both trade at a discount to NAV, investors effectively gain exposure to £1.56 of assets for each £1 invested. MORE »
Focus on long-term capital preservation & growth
1 May 2018
Hansa Trust (HAN/HANA) has undergone a transformation in the past four years and now offers investors a blend of core regional equity funds; thematic exposure to areas including technology; diversifying assets such as hedge funds; direct holdings in global equities; and a longstanding strategic stake in Brazilian maritime services firm Wilson Sons (WSON). The aim is to preserve and grow capital, while giving investors access to assets they would be unable or unlikely to access individually. Possibly as a result of the c 30% holding in Ocean Wilsons Holdings (the majority owner of WSON) and the dual share classes with the majority of voting shares owned by the Salomon family, Hansa Trust has tended to trade at a wide discount to NAV. However, manager Alec Letchfield notes that in an environment of extended equity market valuations, this could be viewed as a margin of safety compared with funds that trade close to or above NAV. MORE »
Positioned for interesting times
25 July 2017
Hansa Trust (HAN/HANA) seeks to be differentiated from peers by giving investors access to a portfolio of global equities, specialist funds and a strategic (c 20%) holding with exposure to Brazil, which began as a small position but has grown as a result of superior long-term performance. There is a long-term bias to equities but the focus on preserving and growing capital means that, at certain points in the cycle, the manager may invest more in defensive assets to dampen volatility. Strategy changes since the start of FY15 appear to be bearing fruit and recent NAV and share price performance have been strong, yet Hansa Trust remains at a wide discount to NAV relative to peers. This provides scope for the discount to narrow substantially should the positive performance trend be maintained. MORE »
Differentiated, long-term fund at a large discount
24 November 2015
The repositioning of Hansa Trust’s portfolio from April 2014 has had a positive impact on performance, the main change being a reallocation from large-cap UK equity holdings to selected core regional funds. Wilson Sons has outperformed its local market, but the depreciation of the Brazilian real has affected its sterling value and Wilson Sons now constitutes 15% of the portfolio. Hansa would look to increase uncorrelated investments in due course if it sees the risk/reward balance in equity markets as less attractive. The combination of Hansa’s long-term endowment style of investment and a wide discount to NAV makes for an interesting, differentiated proposition. MORE »
Long-term view, flexible approach, wide discount
19 December 2014
Hansa Trust’s long-term, endowment-style approach to investing means it tends to have a bias towards equities, which on an underlying basis currently account for c 90% of the portfolio. Within this, the portfolio is differentiated through its access to funds not typically available to the retail market, its focus on UK special situations and a significant indirect holding in Wilson Sons, a quoted Brazilian maritime services business. The manager also has the ability to allocate to uncorrelated assets as the market cycle matures. The discount has narrowed modestly over the last year to c 21%, or 29% on a look-through basis, but there is still ample scope for this to contract further. MORE »
