Some business lobby groups and commentators never hesitate to state that small companies are the real engines driving growth in economies. Whether they can do so consistently for investors’ returns is a different question, though quite a few investment trusts are trying to provide a positive answer.
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust published its results for 2017 on Friday and managed to outperform its benchmark. The trust, formed in 1990 and based in Edinburgh, provided a 22.1 per cent net asset value total return, compared with 19.5 per cent for the Numis Smaller Companies Index. The focus on UK equities did not hold it back, with the share price return also being greater than 22 per cent for the calendar year.
The trust’s shares started 2017