City Natural Resources Growth & Income (LSE:CYN) reported a 76.6% NAV total return for the year to 30 June 2026 in its annual report, published on 28 October. The managers credited a precious metals rally, and the trust has since changed its name and Investment manager.

What happened

City Natural Resources Growth & Income (LSE:CYN) is a constituent of the FTSE All-Share index and an investment trust focused on natural resources. It was known as CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income until 15 September 2026.

The NAV return compared with 63.5% for the MSCI World Metals and Mining Index and 34.1% for the MSCI World Energy Index, both sterling adjusted. Share price total return was 87.0%.

NAV per share rose to 347.19p from 212.56p. The discount narrowed to 1.2% from 6.1%, and gearing increased to 10.9% from 4.8%.

New manager, same team

Tufton Investment Management replaced CQS on 14 September, with an annual fee of 1% of NAV. Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd resumed as portfolio managers, after Manulife's Craig Bethune and Diana Racanelli had run the portfolio on an interim basis from May.

The chair describes this as a continuation rather than a change of strategy. Other changes include a new depositary, Apex, a new lender, the Bank of Nova Scotia, and a proposal to replace BDO with PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditor.

Why it matters for investors

Dividends have become a large part of the story. Four interim payments for the year totalled 28.30p, up from 8.03p, a year-end Yield of 8.3%. The first interim for the new year is 7.88p, with payment on 30 November to holders on the register at 30 October.

Because the payout is linked to NAV, the pence-per-share amount can fall as well as rise. In our analysis, income from this trust therefore depends heavily on Commodity Equity prices.

The portfolio has also shifted. Precious metals fell to 36.8% from 44.8% and oil and gas rose to 28.9% from 13.5%, as managers took profits in early 2026 and moved money to energy, citing Middle East Supply disruption. Uranium was 11.1%, shipping 6.2% and base metals 5.5%.

The largest holdings were NexGen Energy at 5.4%, Tamboran Resources at 5.2% and Spartan Delta at 4.1%.

How the shares have performed

The shares rose from 205.00p on 1 July 2025 to 343.00p at 30 June 2026. The latest price in the report is 376.50p, as at 23 October.

The peak needs some care, since the chair puts it at 440.00p on 27 February, while the report's performance table shows a high of 444.00p. Either way, the October price was well below that level.

Demand for shares

Share issuance points to investor demand. After the year-end, 3,965,000 shares were sold from treasury at an average of 391p, following 2,150,000 during the year at an average of 379.04p. During the year, 763,361 were also bought back at an average of 346.63p.

At 23 October, 40,138,238 shares carried voting rights. Treasury sales have continued, with the latest notice on 30 October.

What to watch next

The Annual General Meeting is on 1 December at One Fleet Place, London. Carole Cable retires then after nine years, and Christopher Casey is to remain chair for a further year, until the 2028 AGM. Shareholders will also vote on changes to the articles.

The managers describe a positive outlook for oil and gas, shipping, uranium and precious metals, while remaining cautious on base metals. The first results under Tufton will show how that positioning has fared.