Murray Income Trust
Murray Income Trust aims to provide a high and growing income combined with capital growth by investing in a portfolio of 30-70 UK companies. The trust is conservatively managed and targets resilient companies which can thrive in any economic scenario.
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Fund Manager
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Charles Luke, Lead Manager Charles Luke is an Investment Director in the UK Equity Team with over 20 years of experience in managing UK equity income funds. He manages the Murray Income Trust and the ASI UK Income Equity Fund, along with overseeing the team's Long Term Quality income strategies and other funds. Charles is also responsible for analyzing sectors such as Business Support Services, Gas & Electricity, and Health Equipment & Services. He began his career at Framlington Investment Management in 1998, focusing on UK equities, and joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2000.
Charles Luke, Lead Manager Charles Luke is an Investment Director in the UK Equity Team with over 20 years of experience in managing UK equity income funds. He manages the Murray Income Trust and the ASI UK Income Equity Fund, along with overseeing the team's Long Term Quality income strategies and other funds. Charles is also responsible for analyzing sectors such as Business Support Services, Gas & Electricity, and Health Equipment & Services. He began his career at Framlington Investment Management in 1998, focusing on UK equities, and joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2000.
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Company Description
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Talking Factsheet
Quote from the Fund Manager
I’m not someone who likes surprises so investing in good quality reliable companies suits me down to the ground.
Charles Luke
Lead Manager
Investment process
Charles adopts a strict investment process based on a disciplined evaluation of companies through meetings with management. Stock selection is the principal source of added value, with quality and price both assessed.
Charles is part of the 15-strong UK equities team at abrdn, which covers the 350 biggest companies listed in the UK. Investment ideas are considered against a variety of factors. These include: the attractiveness of the industry it operates in, the durability of the company’s business model, its financial strength, management capabilities, and environmental, social and governance (ESG). This is supported further by company meetings.
The focus is on high quality companies. The team sees these as firms which have fewer tail risks and a greater margin of safety; produce less volatile earnings streams (resilient and sustainable earnings); and can better navigate an uncertain future while capitalising on opportunities to create value. The trust also looks to maintain a healthy exposure to mid-caps, while overseas stocks may represent up to 20% of holdings, this gives further diversification in terms of market-cap and geography respectively.
The result is a portfolio of around 30-70 companies (although it is normally between 50-70). Turnover is typically low, with the average company held within the portfolio for five years, although the team can – and have – exited a business quickly should they spot any significant concerns.
Murray Income Trust pays Aberdeen Standard Fund Managers a tiered annual management fee based on net assets: 0.55% up to £350m, 0.45% from £350m to £450m and 0.25% above £450m.
Risk
As an income-based portfolio, risk tends to be lower than those vehicle’s targeting growth. The trust is well-diversified and has risk embedded throughout the process – including a 20% exposure to overseas companies, which allows it to benefit from currency gains during periods of sterling weakness.
Murray Income Trust is designed to be resilient in all market conditions. Investors can expect it to protect assets in downward markets although it may lag in periods of strong outperformance from equities.
ESG
ESG - Integrated
This trust has three core principles which underpin its ESG approach. The first is that ESG can materially impact returns and long-term success of a strategy. Secondly, the team believes that by integrating ESG factors into investment decisions the manager gets a better understanding of how well companies are mitigating risks and opportunities. The third pillar is based on the preference for active engagement, with management teams’ being central to enhancing value – for example, the manager is comfortable investing in sectors such as oil and gas, subject to the belief that the company is taking the necessary action to address the energy transition.
Abrdn has around 150 equity professionals globally, all of whom analyse ESG risks and opportunities for each company. It also has a 20 strong ESG investment team, providing consultancy and insight. These teams help to build the ESG profile for each potential investment. An ESG House Score and an Equity ESG Quality Score are produced by the ESG equity analysts and the investment manager equity sector analysts respectively. This is done to help build the profile of each potential investment, while the management continually engages with companies to maintain ESG standards.
Gearing
The Board continues to believe that the appropriate neutral gearing rate is 10 per cent.
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