AVI Global Trust has been repurchasing its shares on most trading days in late October, with the discount to net asset value at about 10%. The Buybacks come after a weak first half and a change in ownership at its Investment manager.

What happened

On 30 October the trust, ticker LSE:AGT, bought 170,000 shares for cancellation at an average 248.71p, about 0.042% of its capital, according to an AI-generated summary on. That left 409,624,755 shares in issue and 387,751,671 voting rights.

lists similar own-share notices on 14, 16, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 29 October. In the half-year to 31 March, the trust spent £26.55m repurchasing 10,305,000 shares, adding 0.2% to NAV. (LSE:AGT)

The latest NAV notice, published on 2 November, gave 268.60p per share with Debt at par and 274.49p with debt at fair value, for the close on 31 October, per the same summary.

Why it matters for investors

AVI Global Trust is a global Equity investment trust managed by Asset Value Investors, and appears on the FTSE All-Share list published by Hargreaves Lansdown, checked on 3 November. It seeks out companies trading below the value of their assets; the portfolio's weighted average discount was about 42% at 31 March.

That creates what might be called a double discount: holders buy a trust at a discount that owns Assets also judged cheap. In our analysis, buybacks narrow the first only modestly, while returns depend on catalysts closing the second.

Ownership of the manager is also changing. On 4 August it was reported that Pacific Asset Management, owned by Australia's Pinnacle, would buy all of AVI's share capital, including Goodhart Partners' 25% stake. Joe Bauernfreund stays as chief executive, chief investment officer and sole manager of AGT, and AVI will keep operating under its own brand. QuotedData's James Carthew said the existing teams and approaches would not be affected.

Bauernfreund's half-year remarks said catalysts, events and activism would be key tools. The portfolio is built accordingly. Holdings at 30 June were led by News Corp at 6.97%, D'Ieteren at 6.70%, HarbourVest Global Private Equity at 6.13%, Jardine Matheson at 6.03% and Mitsubishi Logistics at 6.00%.

How the shares have performed

AJ Bell's delayed data showed 247p to 248p, down 0.38% from a 248.50p previous close, with the last listed trade at 247.56p on 2 November. Hargreaves Lansdown's list showed 248.50p. The 52-week range is 235.07p to 273p, and Market Value about £960.89m.

AJ Bell's estimated NAV of 276.10p, dated 29 October, gives a 10% discount, against a 12-month average of 7.99%. The discount was 8.5% on 31 March.

The half-year was difficult. NAV total return was -5.0% and share price total return -6.7%, compared with +2.1% for the MSCI All Country World index in sterling. Vivendi cost 297 basis points and Chrysalis 254, followed by News Corp, Gerresheimer and EXOR. Jardine Matheson, Tokyo Gas, HD Hyundai, Toyota Industries and Symphony International were the main positives.

The Toyota Industries sale, after a revised take-private bid, returned just over £100m, about 9% of NAV. It moved the trust from gearing of 5.5% at September to modest net cash. Vivendi, EXOR and News Corp were added to.

What to watch next

The financial year ended in September, so annual results are the next major milestone. The 1.50p interim, paid on 24 July, followed a 3.00p payment in January, and AJ Bell shows a 1.69% yield.

Those results should show whether the Vivendi and Chrysalis positions recovered, and how the board under chair Graham Kitchen intends to address the wider discount.