Alliance Witan's chair blamed narrow, AI-led markets when the trust returned 7.0% on net asset value in the first half of 2026, against 12.7% for its index. Those interim results, published on 31 July, remain the latest detailed update, and a manager review is under way.

What happened

Alliance Witan (LSE:ALW) reported a Net Asset Value (NAV) total return of 7.0% for the six months to 30 June 2026, with a share price total return of 6.0%. The MSCI ACWI index returned 12.7% over the same period.

Chair Dean Buckley said relative performance was "below the Board's expectations". He said returns had been "unusually concentrated in AI-related stocks". The report identified the trust's technology underweight, together with stock selection in technology and financials, as key detractors.

NAV per share rose to 1,416.5p from 1,337.2p at the end of 2025, and the share price rose to 1,344.0p from 1,282.0p. The discount widened to 5.1% from 4.1%.

No newer company-specific announcement, other than routine NAV reporting, was found in today's research.

Why it matters for investors

Alliance Witan is a constituent of the FTSE All-Share index and sits in the Investment trust sector, running a global Equity portfolio through a group of selected stock pickers. Its investment manager, WTW, is conducting a structured review.

That review covers the selection of stock pickers, stock selection, portfolio construction and risk management. The board has said it expects no major change to the diversified, high-conviction approach, so investors should not assume a shift in strategy.

The issue goes beyond a single half. A diversified multi-manager portfolio will tend to lag when gains come from a small group of very large companies, and it may do better when market leadership broadens. The comparative period shown in the report also trailed, at 4.7% for NAV against 13.9% for the index.

How the shares have performed

Hargreaves Lansdown's page, retrieved on 3 November without a calendar timestamp on the price, quoted a sell price of 1,352.00p and a buy price of 1,353.00p. The previous close was 1,358.00p. The page's listed change of 9.00p did not reconcile with those prices, so it is not relied upon here.

The latest NAV shown was 1,418.90p, dated 30 October 2026, with an estimated figure of 1,417.25p. The reported discount was 4.75%, slightly narrower than the 12-month average of 4.98%. Market Value was shown as £4.89 billion, gross gearing as 7.00% and the ongoing charge as 0.47%.

These figures imply little change in NAV from the 1,416.5p reported at the end of June. The quoted share price is also only modestly above the 1,344.0p recorded on that date. That comparison ignores the dividends paid since, and so understates total return.

A long Dividend record

The income record remains an important part of the trust's identity. The company describes itself as an Association of Investment Companies Dividend Hero with 59 consecutive years of rising dividends.

A second Interim Dividend of 7.33p was declared with the half-year results, taking the first two payments for 2026 to 14.66p, an increase of 3.5% on 14.16p. Hargreaves Lansdown shows that the most recent listed payment went ex-dividend on 27 August and was paid on 30 September.

The board expects the third and fourth interims to be at least equal to the first two, barring unforeseen circumstances. That would extend the run of annual increases to a 60th year. The displayed Yield was 2.10%.

What to watch next

The outcome of the WTW review is the main item to follow, along with any resulting changes to the line-up of stock pickers. The next dividend declaration is also due; last year's corresponding announcement came on 29 October 2025, and no equivalent notice for this year was retrieved today.

Full-year results will then give the first complete picture of whether relative returns have recovered, and whether the discount has remained near its 12-month average.