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Miton Global Opportunities
Founded in 2004, Miton Global Opportunities (LON:MIGO) has evolved to become a deep value and special situations fund. The fund’s aim is to buy discounted investment trusts that have a “catalyst for change”. Miton Global offers a diversified fund with a range of geographical locations and a variety of assets, including equities (37.7%), private equities (22.7%), property (17.8%) and mining (13.9%). The company sets itself apart by avoiding mainstream markets, instead seeking to buy esoteric, overlooked assets.
Buying trusts at a discount
Miton Global Opportunities aims to buy companies where the NAV (net asset value) both exceeds the share price and is growing over time. This can be achieved in a number of ways. For example, an asset class coming back into favour, or a company employing a new leadership team. One of Miton Global’s key strategies is to target the acquisition of assets worth £1 for as little as 70p.
In 2017, Miton Global Opportunities purchased Ecofin Global Utilities & Infrastructure Trust when its NAV exceeded its share price by over 10%. Due to poor performance levels by the management team, a discount had been created. A new management team was then appointed and became a “catalyst for change”, turning around the company’s prospects. New investors were found, narrowing the NAV discount, while the NAV rose by 23%. In January 2020 Miton Global sold and reaped the benefits.
Miton Global Opportunities Top 12 Holdings
| Top 12 stocks | Weight (%) | Discount (%) |
| Baker Steel Resources Trust | 7.6 | -14.0 |
| River & Mercantile UK Micro Investment | 5.6 | -9.4 |
| Epe Special Opportunities | 5.2 | -39.1 |
| Alpha Real Trust | 5.0 | -25.6 |
| Dunedin Enterprise | 4.8 | -23.3 |
| Vinacapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund | 4.8 | -8.5 |
| Phoenix Spree Deutschland | 4.2 | -32.0 |
| Atlantis Japan Growth Fund | 4.0 | -6.2 |
| Third Point Offshore Investment | 3.7 | -22.0 |
| Henderson Opport Trust | 3.4 | -8.5 |
| Oakley Capital Investments | 3.3 | -27.5 |
| New Star Investment Trust | 3.2 | -29.8 |
Performance
Over the past 12 months Miton Global Opportunities Trust’s share price has risen by 9.6% despite the pandemic, around the same level as its NAV. Over a five year period, the trust has seen a 95.9% increase in the value of its share price.
Baker Steel, the specialist fund manager, which is Miton Global’s top holding at 7.9%, was the trust’s best performer in January, announcing a 29% increase in NAV. This capped off a promising start to the year for Miton Global which saw a 3.69% rise in the company’s share price in the last month.
Year-to-date, the top performers on the Miton Global fund are Artemis Alpha Trust, VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity and River and Mercantile UK Micro. While the losers so far have been Real Estate Investors, Duke Royalty and Macau Property Opportunities.
The trust has a total of £86.6m worth of assets under management.