Fund outperforms benchmark in 2023Dividend increases by 7% to 7.65pShares sit at 13% discount to NAVMid- and small-cap UK growth investor Mercantile Investment Trust (MRC) outperformed its benchmark in the year to 31 January, delivering a net asset total return of 4.5% and total shareholder returns of 6.1%.The dividend was increased by 7% for the year to 7.65p per share, comfortably covered by rev

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE Rhys DaviesFund Manager, InvescoMy job as manager of Invesco Bond Income Plus Ltd (BIPS) is to supply income to enable the investment trust?s board to pay dividends to shareholders.The income comes from a portfolio of bonds. If we think of the portfolio as the income engine, then higher coupons¹ and higher yields over the past two years have allowed us to refue

Record year for sales and profit2024 seen second half-weightedFull year dividend up 3%Despite delivering another record year of revenue and profit, shares in IT reseller Computercenter (CCC) fell 7% to a two-month low of £27.41 after the firm gave a cautious outlook.The FTSE 250 company said although it expects 2024 to be another year of progress, it sees growth weighted to the second half of the

Stocks in London were mixed on Wednesday morning, as inflation came in cooler than anticipated, ahead of interest rate decisions in the US on Wednesday and in the UK on Thursday.The FTSE 100 index opened down 7.59 points, 0.1%, at 7,730.71. The FTSE 250 was up 10.67 points, 0.1%, at 19,443.48, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.44 of a point, 0.1%, at 736.00.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 773.96, th

The IT reseller industry has enjoyed a strong bounce back from the world?s Covid reopening as customers line up to put in place digital strategies and adopt the latest technologies, and AI (artificial intelligence) levers are being pulled left, right and centre.International player Computacenter (CCC) said in September 2023 that it sees another record year for profits and analysts have been quick

There is no question the dominant theme in stock markets last year was AI (artificial intelligence), in particular generative AI.In an interview with Time magazine last June, Sam Altman ? the former chief executive of OpenAI, whose ChatGPT product has been at the forefront of the AI trend ? said he believes the technology will ?transform the way people work and the way people learn. It?s going to

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURERhys Davies, Fund ManagerBond markets have been anything but boring over the last couple of years ? what happened?They?ve been exciting ? and painful - for investors. We all know what happened in 2022. Inflation, which is the nemesis of bonds, was a lot higher than most people expected. Interest rates were hiked in reaction. Many people criticise the central banks for

It has been an up and down year for the UK stock market but some names have really shone over the course of the last 12 months. In this article we go through the market cap ranks to identify the best performing large-, mid- and small-cap stocks in 2023.£5 billion+ market capWhile Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) has dominated headlines globally as excitement around AI (artificial intelligence) helped drive i

IT infrastructure supplier and reseller Computacenter (CCC) has seen its shares rise 30% over the past two months.The trigger for the rally was the publication of half-year results on 7 September which saw Computacenter report 13.9% growth in adjusted pre-tax profit to £122.8 million and strong cash generation. Chief executive Mike Norris even said: 'We are as excited and optimistic about the fut

UK is the best performing major market this monthFTSE 100 aided by big oil-price gains and weak poundFTSE 250 flat on the monthFor most major markets September has been something of a washout with the S&P 500 index losing 4%, the Nasdaq 100 off 4.5% and Germany's DAX down 3%.A key driver of weakness has been the relentless rise in bond yields, which hit their highest levels since 2007 in the US wi

Better than expected first halfRobust demand from large corporate buyersCash return expected before end of 2024IT infrastructure supplier and valued-added reseller Computacenter (CCC) topped the mid-cap leader board on Friday 8 September with the shares jumping more than 13% to £24.46 after the firm delivered a better-than-expected result for the first half to the end of June.Revenue increased 27

Stock prices in London were in the green on Friday morning, as UK hiring activity decreased in August, suggesting that the Bank of England's interest rate increases are working.The FTSE 100 index opened up 5.73 points, 0.1%, at 7,447.45. The FTSE 250 was up 54.54 points, 0.3%, at 18,438.39, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.07 of a point at 735.75.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 741.56, the Cboe UK 25

British American Tobacco's new boss shows market that he backs his own leadershipComputacenter CEO cashes in on positive set of resultsAssura directors buy over £86,000 sharesBritish American Tobacco (BATS) CEO Tadeu Marroco has bought 10,000 shares at £25.74 for a total value of £257,386 on 6 June.The purchase comes as no surprise as the shares have fallen almost 22% year-to-date and buying no

When investors think of technology stocks, they often turn to the US market, such is the dominance of the old FANGs, Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ), Nvidia (NDVA:NASDAQ) and others.This risks missing out on great investment opportunities right here in the UK, such as Computacenter (CCC), a company championed in Shares in 2019 when the shares could be bought for £12.10. This is a built in Britain, pan-Europe

Specialist distributor of AV (audio visual) equipment to the trade market Midwich (MIDW:AIM) has established a strong track record of growth since coming to the stock market in 2016.Although there are added risks to consider when investing in smaller companies, we believe Midwich is a great opportunity to buy above average growth at a below average price.Sales and adjusted operating profit have gr

- EPS down 5% and misses expectations by nearly 6%- Demand remains high, driving 17% sales rise- Wage inflation becoming one of the larger threatsShares in IT reseller Computacenter (CCC) were on the end of a hammering after missing profit targets in the first half. While the company had outlined that profits were expected to be impacted by higher costs as sales staff hit the road again (upping tr

- Driving value in fragmented £52 billion addressable market- Digitisation, Cloud, cybersecurity all hot investment themes- Vital partners to tech giants like Microsoft, AWS, Adobe and AppleAnalysts at stock broker Liberum believe there is great long-term returns potential from the UK technology value-added reseller space, including Softcat (SCT), Bytes Technology (BYIT) and Computacenter (CCC).'

The deadline for using up this tax year's £20,000 ISA allowance is fast approaching. You have until 5 April to use it or lose it, so now is the time to think about topping up your account.Clearly there are reasons to be nervous as an investor amid rising inflation and tensions in Ukraine, but you do have the option of putting cash into an investment ISA now and sitting on it until you're ready to

UK stocks experience their worst one-day fall in more than 12 months on Monday as global markets swooned due to sustained weakness in US technology stocks with the Nasdaq 100 collapsing by 4% as sellers began to exhibit signs of panic.Asian trading saw a volatile session with Japan's Nikkei 225 and China's Shanghai Composite up slightly, but the EuroStoxx 50 index of leading European companies she

UK stocks fell sharply at the start of the week as global markets swooned following weakness in US stocks on Friday.Asian trading saw a volatile session with Japan's Nikkei 225 closing 0.25% higher and China's Shanghai Composite up slightly, but the EuroStoxx 50 index of leading European companies shed 2% as tech stocks faced heavy selling.Investors are also bracing themselves ahead of an update f