The City of London Investment Trust
Launched in 1891, the City of London Investment Trust is one of the longest-running investment trusts in the UK. It aims to provide growth in income and capital by investing predominantly in larger UK companies with international exposure. It has increased its dividend payment every year for the past 56 years.
Our Opinion
Fund Managers
Expand
Fund Managers
Close
Job Curtis is a Portfolio Manager at Janus Henderson Investors, a position he has held since 2006. He has managed the City of London Investment Trust since 1991 and is also co-manager of the Global Equity Income strategy. Job joined Henderson in 1992 following Henderson’s acquisition of Touche Remnant, where he had served as a unit trust and investment trust manager since 1987. Prior to this, he was an assistant fund manager at Cornhill Insurance from 1985 to 1987 and a graduate trainee at Grieveson Grant stockbrokers from 1983 to 1985. Job holds an MA in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University. He is an associate member of the Society of Investment Professionals (ASIP) and has 39 years of financial industry experience.
David Smith is a Portfolio Manager on the Global Equity Income Team at Janus Henderson Investors, a position he has held since 2008. He joined Henderson in 2002, initially working in operations and progressing to the UK Equities Team, and is now part of the Global Equity Income Team. David graduated with a BSc degree (Hons) in chemistry from Bristol University. He holds the Investment Management Certificate and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has 22 years of financial industry experience.
Job Curtis is a Portfolio Manager at Janus Henderson Investors, a position he has held since 2006. He has managed the City of London Investment Trust since 1991 and is also co-manager of the Global Equity Income strategy. Job joined Henderson in 1992 following Henderson’s acquisition of Touche Remnant, where he had served as a unit trust and investment trust manager since 1987. Prior to this, he was an assistant fund manager at Cornhill Insurance from 1985 to 1987 and a graduate trainee at Grieveson Grant stockbrokers from 1983 to 1985. Job holds an MA in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University. He is an associate member of the Society of Investment Professionals (ASIP) and has 39 years of financial industry experience.
Read More
Risk
Read more
Back
Fund Performance
Close
Risk
Close
Quote from the Fund Manager
I have a conservative personality and it is reflected in the portfolio. I pay attention to the downside risks as well as the upside potential.
Job Curtis
Lead Manager
Investment process
Job focuses on companies that can pay and increase their dividends over time. He pays close attention to valuations and is careful not to overpay when he initiates positions. He particularly likes companies with a competitive advantage and has historically favoured multi-national brands with stable earnings and growth prospects. He has a bias towards large caps, with 60% of the portfolio typically held in companies that sit in the FTSE 100. However, there is a bias within this as the City of London Investment Trust prefers international companies (listed in the FTSE 100) as the managers believes these economies are likely to grow faster than the UK.
Job aims to provide shareholders with dividends between 10% and 30% higher than the average for the UK equity market. Dividends are distributed quarterly.
Risk
This trust invests primarily in UK equities, although it does have the flexibility to invest up to 20% in overseas equities. Stock specific risk is somewhat mitigated by the number of stocks Job holds, which is typically around 100.
ESG
ESG - Integrated
Job considers all factors that could affect his portfolio, and therefore blends the evaluation of ESG factors with quantitative financial analysis. Whilst all elements are important, governance is a key part of the fundamental analysis of a business, due to the impact of long-term decision-making by management teams on investment returns. Environmental and social factors are assessed more qualitatively, and their impacts can vary by sector and geography. Job uses a range of sources.
First is Janus Henderson’s internal research platform which is populated by the in-house analyst team. This provides a centralised research platform to find information on all stocks in the universe and is supported by a range of different third-party data sources, which help to fill any gaps in coverage and ensure there aren’t any major issues that are missed. Finally, there is an internal Governance and Responsible investment team to monitor the overall ESG environment and identify any market developments. All of this goes into the evaluation of a stock, and Job can decide whether the impacts are material enough to affect the investment case.
Related Insights
A win for investment trusts: how scrapping cost disclosures could boost the sector
2024 Olympics: Meet the fund managers tapping into the UK’s golden opportunity
Deciphering UK Equity Income: Insights from City of London Investment Trust Manager
adviser only
City of London Investment Trust: update from the manager, May 2024
264. Is it time to be optimistic about the UK economy?
The information, data, analyses, and opinions contained herein (1) include the proprietary information of FundCalibre, (2) may not be copied or redistributed without prior permission, (3) do not constitute investment advice offered by FundCalibre, (4) are provided solely for informational purposes and therefore are not an offer to buy or sell a fund, and (5) are not warranted to be correct, complete, or accurate. FundCalibre shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from, or related to, this information, data, analyses, or opinions or their use. The Elite Fund rating is subjective in nature and reflects FundCalibre’s current expectations of future events/behaviour as they relate to a particular fund. Because such events/behaviour may turn out to be different than expected, FundCalibre does not guarantee that a fund will perform in line with its FundCalibre benchmark. Likewise, the Elite Fund rating should not be seen as any sort of guarantee or assessment of the creditworthiness of a fund nor of its underlying securities and should not be used as the sole basis for making any investment decision. FundCalibre disclaims any responsibility for trading decisions, damages or other losses resulting from any use of the Elite Fund rating. All performance data, as well as fund size, OCF, AMC, annual income (historic), share price discount or premium, is sourced directly from FE Analytics, and will change periodically.