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LONDON - Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust (AIE) has reported a notable outperformance in its half-yearly results for the six months ending December 31, 2024. The investment trust achieved a share price total return of 5.6% and a net asset value (NAV) total return of 5.7%, significantly exceeding the MSCI India IMI (LON:IMI) Index, which saw a decline of 2.7% during the same period.
Since becoming fully invested post-IPO on July 31, 2018, AIE has demonstrated strong long-term returns, outpacing its benchmark by 96.7 percentage points with a 197.3% return compared to the MSCI India IMI Index’s 100.6%. This performance underscores the investment trust’s effective stock selection, particularly within the small- and mid-cap sectors.
The trust’s robust results are partly attributed to investments in companies like IKS Health, which enables physicians to automate and digitize manual tasks, focusing more on healthcare delivery. Andrew Watkins, chairman of AIE, remains optimistic about India’s long-term growth prospects despite concerns over valuations impacting stocks, particularly in the mid-cap and smaller-cap sectors where AIE is overweight.
Management, led by WhiteOak Capital Partners (WA:CPAP)’ Prashant Khemka and Ayush Abhijeet, has continued to deliver strong returns, with AIE’s NAV total return outperforming the benchmark, which does not account for taxes in its figures. AIE has also been recognized with a Kepler Growth Rating for 2025.
In December, AIE’s board approved an investment policy change allowing up to 12% of gross assets to be allocated to unquoted companies, a sector that management believes offers potential for index-beating returns due to its under-researched nature. Additionally, the trust’s managers have been authorized to increase the number of holdings to capitalize on the growing number of smaller companies in India.
This performance report is based on a press release statement and reflects the trust’s strategy and market position as of the end of 2024. It is important to note that past performance is not indicative of future results, and investment values can fluctuate.
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