F&C Capital & Income Investment Trust, managed by Julian Cane (pictured), generated a total return on net assets of 3.9% for the six months ended 31 March 2014 – lagging the 4.8% return on the FTSE All-Share Index. The trust’s rating improved however and this generated a return to shareholders of 5.4%. The quarterly dividends for the first half have been increased from 2.15p to 2.25p – an increase of 4.7%.
The chairman’s statement attributes the underperformance to one holding – partnership assurance – which knocked 0.8% of the net asset value as its price fell by two thirds in response to the Chancellor’s decision to remove the compulsory purchase of annuities with a pension fund.