Monthly FACTSHEET
October 2025
How We Invest
Alliance Witan aims to be a core equity holding for investors that delivers a real return over the long term through a combination of capital growth and a rising dividend. The Company invests primarily in global equities across a wide range of industries and sectors to achieve its objective.
The Company's investment manager, WTW, has appointed a number of Stock Pickers with different styles, who each ignore the benchmark and only buy a small number of stocks in which they have strong conviction. Therefore, we believe investors get the benefit of both highly focused stock picking to increase potential outperformance versus the benchmark and manager diversification which should reduce risk and volatility. We believe that the Company's diversified but highly active multi-manager portfolio is competitively priced.
Cumulative Performance (Total return in sterling)160
Share price NAV/Share MSCI ACWI
140
120
% Growth
100
80
60
40
20
0
-20
3/2017 3/2018 2/2019 2/2020 1/2021 12/2021 12/2022 11/2023 10/2024 10/2025
Cumulative Performance (%)To 31 October 2025 | Since 1/4/171 | 5 Years | 3 Years | 1 Year | YTD | Month | ||||||
Total Shareholder Return NAV Total Return | 123.4 121.2 | 78.1 77.2 | 44.7 43.8 | 8.5 8.4 | 5.1 5.6 | 2.2 2.2 | ||||||
MSCI ACWI Total Return2 | 147.5 | 94.6 | 57.7 | 20.0 | 15.4 | 4.8 |
From To | 31/10/24 31/10/25 | 31/10/23 31/10/24 | 31/10/22 31/10/23 | 31/10/21 31/10/22 | 31/10/20 31/10/21 | |||||
Total Shareholder Return NAV Total Return | 8.5 8.4 | 24.3 22.7 | 7.3 8.1 | -5.4 -6.6 | 30.2 32.0 | |||||
MSCI ACWI Total Return2 | 20.0 | 25.3 | 4.8 | -4.7 | 29.5 |
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Note: All data is provided as at 31 October 2025 unless otherwise stated.
Past performance does not predict future returns and the value of shares and the income from them can rise and fall, so investors may not get back the amount originally invested.
Key Statistics
Share Price | 1,286.0p |
Net Asset Value (NAV) Per Share | 1,356.1p |
Premium (Discount) | (5.2%) |
OCR Year to 31 Dec 20243 | 0.56% |
Key Facts
Total No. of Stocks | 227 |
Market Capitalisation | £4,980.8m |
Total Assets | £5,624.2m |
Net Assets | £5,252.4m |
Gross Gearing4 | 8.5% |
Net Gearing5 | 4.8% |
Yield6 | 2.2% |
Year End | 31/12 |
Incorporated | 21/4/1888 |
Dividend Paid | Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec |
Shares in Issue7 | 387,306,982 |
Buybacks in October | 0.76% of shares in issue |
TIDM | AWL |
ISIN | GB00B11V7W98 |
AIC Sector | Global |
Top 20 Holdings
Individual Holdings:
Our portfolio looks very different to the benchmark.
Active Share:
The measure of how different the portfolio is to the benchmark.
Country/Sector Allocation
Similar to benchmark by design
By Geography
59.3%
Portfolio weight
Benchmark weight
9.3%
3.2%
11.2% 11.1%
16.5% 18.1%
3.7%
67.6%
73%Active Share
Name | £m | % |
Microsoft | 244.8 | 4.4 |
Alphabet | 156.3 | 2.8 |
Amazon | 125.4 | 2.2 |
Taiwan Semiconductor | 116.5 | 2.1 |
Visa | 106.3 | 1.9 |
Mastercard | 93.5 | 1.7 |
Unilever | 81.4 | 1.4 |
Salesforce | 76.3 | 1.4 |
UnitedHealth Group | 76.3 | 1.4 |
London Stock Exchange | 71.9 | 1.3 |
Diageo | 70.7 | 1.3 |
NVIDIA | 69.7 | 1.2 |
Philip Morris Intl | 69.5 | 1.2 |
Everest Group | 60.1 | 1.1 |
HCA Healthcare | 57.3 | 1.0 |
Progressive | 54.1 | 1.0 |
State Street | 53.5 | 1.0 |
Samsung Electronics | 52.6 | 0.9 |
Ryanair | 52.4 | 0.9 |
Ashtead Group | 50.0 | 0.9 |
North America UK Europe Asia & Emerging
Markets
Stock Picker Cash
Top 10 holdings 20.6%
Top 20 holdings 31.1%
The 20 largest stock positions, given as a percentage of the total assets. Each Stock Picker selects up to 20 stocks.9 A full breakdown of the portfolio can be viewed at https://www.alliancewitan.com
By Sector
To view all holdings click here
Responsible Investing
As long-term investors, we incorporate environmental, social, and corporate governance ("ESG") factors into our decision making to manage financial risks. Read more about this at:
https://www.alliancewitan.com/how-we-invest
To find out more click here
Global stock markets powered ahead in October, with our benchmark MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI) rising by another 4.8% in Sterling terms, taking the year-to-date gain to over 15% and keeping the MSCI All Country World Index on course for an unprecedented third successive year of double-digit returns.
October's advance was led by emerging markets, which benefitted from a trade truce between the US and China. These developments were particularly helpful for Korea and Taiwan, whose semiconductor sectors are heavily reliant on China's rare earth minerals and are deeply embedded in the global market for artificial intelligence (AI) and electronics manufacturing.
However, share prices in other regions also rose significantly. In Japan,
for example, investors welcomed the appointment of Sanae Takaichi
Risk warnings - Past performance does not predict future returns. The value of shares and the income from them can rise and fall, so investors may not get back
the amount originally invested. Net Asset Value ("NAV") performance is not the same as share price performance and investors may not realise returns in line with NAV performance. Exchange rate changes may cause the value of overseas investments
to go down as well as up and can impact on both the level of income received and capital value of your investment.
Investment trusts may borrow to finance
further investment (gearing). The use of gearing is likely to lead to volatility in
the NAV, meaning that a relatively small movement, down or up, in the value of an investment trust's assets will result in a magnified movement, in the same
direction, of that NAV. This may mean that you could get back less than you invested or nothing at all. The mention of any specific shares should not be taken as a recommendation to deal.
Notes: All figures may be subject to rounding differences. Sources: Key Statistics, Key Facts, Top 20 Holdings and % of Portfolio Managed data is provided by Juniper Partners Limited; Equity Portfolio Allocation and Active Share is provided by WTW, Juniper Partners Limited and MSCI Inc. Alliance Witan performance is provided by WTW and Juniper Partners Limited; MSCI benchmark performance is sourced from MSCI Inc. NAV
and NAV total return is based on NAV including income with debt at fair value, after all manager fees (including WTW's fees) and allows for any tax reclaims when they are achieved. The NAV total return shown in factsheets up to May 2018 was based on NAV excluding income with debt valued at par. ISIN stands for International Securities Identification Number; TIDM stands for Tradable Instrument Display Mnemonics; and AIC stands for Association of Investment Companies.
Important Information
Alliance Witan is an investment company with investment trust status. Alliance Witan invests primarily in equities and aims to generate capital growth and a progressively rising dividend from its portfolio of investments. Alliance Witan currently conducts its affairs so that its shares can be recommended by Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) to ordinary retail investors in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules in relation to non-mainstream investment products
and intends to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The shares are excluded from the FCA's restrictions which apply to non-mainstream investment products because they are shares in
an investment trust. The shares in the Company may also be suitable for institutional investors who seek a combination of capital and income return. Private investors should consider consulting an Independent Financial Adviser who specialises
in advising on the acquisition of shares and other securities before acquiring shares. Alliance Witan is not authorised to give financial advice. For security and compliance monitoring purposes, telephone calls may be recorded. The Alliance Witan Board has appointed Towers Watson Investment Management Limited (TWIM) as its Alternative Investment
Fund Manager (AIFM). TWIM is part of WTW. Issued by Towers Watson Investment Management Limited. Towers Watson Investment Management Limited, registered office Watson House, London Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 9PQ is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 446740.
as the country's first female Prime Minister, viewing her aim to pursue expansionary fiscal monetary policies as positive for equities; and
in the UK, falling government borrowing costs provided a tailwind to domestic stocks. Reflecting the generally buoyant mood among investors, the gains were widespread across sectors, too. But the
standout performer was once again information technology, where the mega-cap companies leading AI development reported strong results.
Google's parent, Alphabet, for example, saw its revenue grow by 16% year-on-year to $102.3 billion, passing the $100 billion milestone for the first time. NVIDIA, meanwhile, briefly became the world's first five trillion-dollar company after the US giant's stock was propelled by strong sales of its AI chips and the prospect of expanded access to the Chinese market.
Our portfolio's net asset value return and the share price return were the same at 2.2%, lagging the return of our benchmark. While overweight positions in Samsung Electronics in Korea and Taiwan Semiconductors were additive to relative returns, about half of the underperformance was due to a combination of our underweight and stock selection in the booming US information technology sector,
where our relative lack of exposure to NVIDIA and Apple were among the biggest detractors from performance versus the benchmark.
The rest of the underperformance was due to stock selection in a range of other sectors, most notably communication services and
financials, where the American telecoms giant, AT&T, and the insurance company, Progressive Corporation, also in the US, were the largest negatives. Both companies are owned by GQG, which was the weakest performing manager, although its emerging markets holdings, which include Taiwan Semiconductor, added value.
While appreciating the transformational potential of AI, GQG believes that the current market enthusiasm for tech and AI companies has driven many valuations to levels that are unsustainable. It fears a repeat of the dotcom crash in the early noughties and has, therefore, generally taken shelter in more defensive companies with what it believes are stronger fundamentals, such as US regulated utilities, Indian infrastructure, Brazilian banks, and European pharmaceuticals.
Given market momentum behind AI-related stocks, GQG's short-term performance is suffering from this stance and, with a high weighting in the Alliance Witan portfolio, this is having a proportionate effect on our returns.
While retaining selective exposure to the AI theme through stocks owned by other managers, we have some sympathy with GQG's view that there is some speculative froth in the market. We continue to have strong conviction in GQG's flexible investment approach and long-term performance track record, balanced as it is by exposures to the distinctive investment styles of ten other managers. Despite their differences, all our managers place strong emphasis on careful analysis to differentiate the price of a stock from its underlying business.
Their focus on fundamentals has led to underperformance versus MSCI ACWI since early 2024, but we have continued to deliver strong absolute returns. Relative underperformance in the last 18 months is largely due to returns coming from a narrow group of stocks. Alliance Witan's portfolio has exposure to some of these businesses but not as much as the benchmark. Market concentration
has created a challenging landscape for active managers who prioritise diversification and valuation discipline. Despite these headwinds, our role remains rooted in constructing resilient, risk-aware portfolios that align with shareholders' long-term objectives-even if that means lagging more concentrated benchmarks in the short term.
Stock Pickers
% of portfolio managed
8%
Our investment manager, WTW, is responsible for manager selection, portfolio construction and risk management. Its Investment Committee comprises Craig Baker, Mark Davis and Stuart Gray.
Daniel O'Keefe Michael McKinnon
Mick Dillon Bertie Thomson
James B. Rosenwald III, Gifford Combs,
8%
6%
10%
Shiro Hayashi
8%
Tye Bousada, Geoff MacDonald
Rajiv Jain,
6%
11%
18%
Brian Kersmanc, Sudarshan Murthy 9
Mark Baribeau, Tom Davis, Rebecca Irwin
6%
Andrew Wellington John Mullins
8%
Dan Kaskawits
Jonathan Mills, Simon Denison-Smith
Dave Levanson, Sunil Thakor
11%
Andy Headley, Mike Moore, Ian Clark
C.T Fitzpatrick
Contact
Alliance Witan PLC, River Court, 5 West Victoria Dock Road, Dundee DD1 3JT
Tel +44 (0)1382 938320
investor@alliancewitan.com https://www.alliancewitan.com
Notes:
1 April 2017 was the date that WTW was appointed investment manager.
MSCI All Country World Index Net Dividends Reinvested.
The OCR for year to 31 December 2024 was calculated in line with the industry standard using the average of net asset values at each NAV calculation date and includes a management fee waiver. The OCR excluding the management fee waiver is 0.61%.
Total borrowings at par value divided by net assets with debt at par.
Total borrowings at par value minus total cash and equivalents, divided by net assets with debt at par.
Annual dividend per share divided by share price.
Excluding ordinary shares held in Treasury.
https://www.theaic.co.uk/income-finder/dividend-heroes
GQG manages an emerging markets mandate of up to 60 stocks as well as a global equity mandate of up to 20 stocks.
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Disclaimer
Alliance Witan plc published this content on November 12, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 12, 2025 at 14:23 UTC.
