Murray International Trust: June 2026 update

• Samantha Fitzpatrick and Martin Connaghan have co-managed the trust since June 2024, following the retirement of veteran manager Bruce Stout

• The trust can invest in both shares and bonds, but mainly focuses on shares

• The managers have access to a well-resourced team with analyst coverage in all corners of the world

How it fits in a portfolio

Murray International Trust aims to grow income and capital over the long term by investing in company shares from around the globe, while also investing in some bonds. The managers invest in both developed markets and higher-risk emerging markets, so the trust could provide diversification to an investment portfolio investing in more traditional income hunting grounds such as the UK. Given the focus on income, the trust could also complement other funds or investment trusts that target capital growth.

Investors in closed-ended funds should be aware the trust can trade at a discount or premium to Net Asset Value (NAV).

Manager

The trust is managed by longstanding colleagues Samantha Fitzpatrick and Martin Connaghan. They became co-managers at the end of 2019 and worked with previous manager Bruce Stout until his retirement in 2024. Stout, an industry veteran, was lead manager of the trust since 2004.

Fitzpatrick and Connaghan both have over 25 years of industry experience and previously worked for Murray Johnstone, which was acquired by Aberdeen in 2001. Fitzpatrick started her career on the performance and risk team before moving to a fund management role 20 years ago. Connaghan held a number of roles, including as a trader and an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) analyst, before becoming a fund manager in 2009. They have plenty of resources at their disposal, including a large team of analysts with eyes in all corners of the market.

Process

The team invest in high-quality, financially robust companies they believe have the potential to grow both earnings and dividends over the long term. There’s an emphasis on companies with resilient business models, a unique set of advantages over competitors, and experienced management teams.

To identify opportunities, the managers use research from across the firm’s regional teams. This helps them reduce the large global market to a portfolio of between 40 and 70 companies. The managers don’t have a yield (income) target for the companies they invest in, but to invest in companies with lower yields, they need to see potential future dividend growth.

Historically, investors seeking income focused on the UK, but, over the years, the team has found more opportunities overseas. At the end of April 2026, just 9.3% of the trust was invested in UK shares. North American companies are the largest regional allocation, accounting for 33.6% of the trust. There are also sizeable investments across Asia and in Latin America.

A small part of the trust invests in bonds. At the end of April 2026, this accounted for 1.5% of the trust’s assets and are mainly bonds from higher-risk emerging markets. The amount invested in bonds has decreased in recent years as the managers prefer to focus on investing in shares.

The managers made a number of changes to the trust over the past year. Investments were made in Kone, a Finnish industrial machinery company, and American DIY chain Lowe’s. The managers also purchased shares in two regional banks – DBS in Singapore and Intesa Sanpaolo in Italy.

Some investments were also sold. These included Chilean mining company SQM after the company made significant cuts to its dividend. Telus Group, a Canadian telecommunications company was sold over concerns about future dividend growth. The managers also sold the trust’s shares in Taiwanese semiconductor business GlobalWafers.

Investors should be aware the trust can borrow money to invest with the intention of increasing returns (known as gearing). This could also magnify losses in a falling market, though, so is a higher risk approach. At the end of December 2025, gearing stood at 4.4%, which is a decrease from 6.1% the previous year. The board have reduced the level of gearing as the cost of borrowing money has increased.

Culture

The trust is managed by Aberdeen, which was created following the merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life plc in 2017. Mergers have the potential to cause disruption, though this one provided the managers with access to a bigger pool of resources.

Fitzpatrick and Connaghan have worked together for over 20 years. They work collegially and welcome the support of the group’s analysts based all over the world. Furthermore, they have no additional responsibilities, so 100% of their time is dedicated to the management of this trust.

ESG integration

Aberdeen is a firm well known for its commitment to ESG. Responsible investing has been part of the business since it set up its Corporate Governance team in 1992 and launched its first ethical fund in 1994. We like that the firm’s policy positions on a range of divisive issues, from plastics and nuclear energy to palm oil and biodiversity, are easily available on its website.

The firm also produces frequent ESG-related thought leadership articles, a podcast series, and an annual Stewardship report. We’re pleased to see that the firm’s commitment to ESG has filtered down to the fund level. Aberdeen fund managers generally see themselves as owners of businesses, not investors, and stewardship is an important part of their investment processes. The firm exercises all voting rights and engages with management to encourage best practice. The firm’s comprehensive voting policy helps to achieve consistency across all voting activity.

ESG and stewardship factors are included in every stock research note, and each firm receives an ESG score, based on its ESG credentials and its ability to manage ESG risks. In fixed income, ESG risks are assessed and priced alongside other credit risks, and the managers encourage action that will reduce these risks. As with equities, each issuer receives an ESG risk rating. All managers have access to a central Sustainability Group, as well as specialist on-desk analysts.

This trust’s Board actively engages with the managers on the assessment and integration of ESG factors. While ESG is factored into analysis, the trust doesn’t have any exclusions and the managers can invest in any sector.

Cost

The ongoing annual charge over the trust’s last financial year to 31 December 2025 was 0.50%, a decrease from 0.52% in the previous year. Investors should refer to the latest annual reports and accounts, and Key Information Document for details of the risks and charging structure.

We recently made some changes to the amount clients pay to invest with us. Find out more about these changes.

The annual charge to hold investment trusts in the HL ISA, SIPP, or Fund & Share Account is 0.35% (capped at £150 p.a. in each account) and 0.25% in the HL Lifetime ISA (capped at £45 p.a.). There are no charges from HL to hold investment trusts within the HL Junior ISA. As investment trusts trade like shares, both a buy and sell instruction will be subject to the HL share dealing charges.

Performance

Since Fitzpatrick and Connaghan became co-managers at the end of 2019, the trust has delivered a share price return of 93.13%*. This is ahead of the 33.75% average return in the AIC Global Equity Income peer group. The trust’s NAV rose 99.47% over the same period. Bruce Stout remained the trust's lead manager for much of this time, so not all performance can be attributed to the current managers. Past performance isn’t a guide to the future.

Last year, the trust changed its benchmark from the FTSE All World index to the MSCI ACWI High Dividend Yield index. The board believes the new benchmark is a better performance comparator, given the trust’s focus on providing an income and there has been no change to how the trust invests. We believe the change in benchmark is sensible given the focus on income.

Over the trust’s last financial year, to the end of December 2025, the trust generated returns of 35.97%. Its NAV grew 21.59%. Both were ahead of the 4.69% returns of the average trust in the AIC peer group.

The trust’s investments in Asia and the US were among those that contributed the most to performance. Technology businesses Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company both performed strongly as a result of their positions in artificial intelligence (AI) related supply chains. The managers have reduced their investments in both companies as a result of share price growth. Tobacco company Philip Morris International also contributed to the trust’s performance.

Among the investments to detract from performance were beverage companies Diageo and Pernod Ricard. Both have struggled in the face of weaker demand for their products in recent years. US pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb also detracted because of uncertainty caused by changing regulations.

The trust has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and is classed as an AIC ‘dividend hero’. The total dividend per share for the year to the end of December 2025 was 12.4p, representing an increase of 5.1% from the previous year. Income isn’t guaranteed and yields aren’t a reliable indicator of future income. The level of income paid will change over time. At the time of writing, the trust yields 3.45%.

Over the past 12 months, the trust traded at an average discount of 1.83%. At the time of writing the trust trades at a premium of 1.68%.