Aberdeen New India (ANII)

Managers James Thom and Rita Tahilramani have been active in adjusting the Portfolio of Aberdeen New India (ANII) in response to changing market conditions within Indian equities. They have taken advantage of some near-term volatility to add selectively to more attractive areas, notably to growth names that have derated, and to equities that offer more defensive earnings profiles. Each stock will still fulfil the managers’ focus on quality companies, which are selected from the bottom up, of which the majority are large caps, albeit with a notable mid- and small-cap allocation.

The managers have sold several holdings, including capturing profits from strong performers that arose from good stock selection, and recycling these gains elsewhere, as well as exiting those where the outlook has deteriorated, ensuring they are quick to react to changing conditions. Near-term gains from these strong performers have contributed to a return to outperformance in the first seven months of 2026, most notably with the trust outperforming a market bounce in June.

As a result, ANII’s NAV Performance track record is now ahead of the five-year conditional tender offer threshold, which is due at 31/03/2027. However, this outperformance is quite narrow, meaning as the date approaches, there is the potential for the Discount to change. Regardless, the discount has traded in a narrow range for the past year, although the board has been very active in supporting this, with c. 8% of the opening shares in issue being bought back in the past financial year.

At present, ANII is the only trust in the peer group with Gearing. This is currently only 2.2%, below the five-year average of 8.7% and within the 8.8% maximum which the facilities would allow, meaning there is potential to increase the gearing should more opportunities arise.