The Smithson Investment Trust has added fast food firm Wingstop and pest control company Rollins to its portfolio.
In Q1 2021, the £2.8bn trust’s net asset value fell by 2.4% and its share price was down 3%, while its benchmark the MSCI World Smid index rose 6.4%.
Speaking at the trust’s second AGM manager Simon Barnard (pictured) blamed underperformace during the period on not having exposure to the airline, energy and real estate sectors which rose sharply thanks to optimism over the economic rebound.
However, it had a strong 2020 as its net asset value surged by 31.4% and its share price rose 31.7%, compared to its MSCI benchmark which was up 12.2%.
Smithson adds chicken wing franchise and pest control company
Barnard said he had added two new stocks to the portfolio so far this year, most recently chicken wing franchise Wingstop.
The ‘aviation-themed’ fast-food restaurants have expanded outside of the US with over 1,000 restaurants internationally, including three in London. In its Q1 2021 report, Wingstop recorded revenue of $70.7m (£60m) in the first quarter, a 27.5% increase compared to Q1 2020.
During the period Barnard also initiated a holding in US pest control company Rollins, a company he has been eyeing up for a long time.
He decided to take the plunge after the company unveiled a strong set of annual results at the start of the year, with revenue increasing by 7.2% to $2.2bn (£1.6bn) and its residential customer base growing at record rates.
UK life sciences company ditched
Meanwhile UK life sciences business Abcam was dropped as the company undergoes a strategy change, buying new technology at “ever increasing prices”. Barnard sold the company while its shares were doing well on the back of positive results for 2020.
At the end of the quarter Sabre was the trust’s largest holding. The US travel software company was the biggest detractor to performance in 2020, but Barnard has said he is confident it could weather revenue uncertainty for up to two years.
He is also hopeful on the prospects for Rightmove, another top detractor in 2020, expecting it to see a return to profitability this year.
Last March Barnard trimmed positions in healthcare stocks, Ambu and Masimo, which did “extremely well” during the pandemic. The portfolio’s healthcare weighting currently sits at 10%.
In 2020, the trust also bought into autonomous oven business Rational and cyber security companies Qualys and Fortinet, while selling out of Check Point Software Technologies.
See also: Smithson more than doubles benchmark return on healthcare boost
