Personal Assets Trust PLC (LON:PNL) said it recently sold out of its longstanding holding in Coca-Cola due to concerns including the industry's packaging and waste issues, while it added to investments in the digital payments sector.
The investment trust reported a 2.9% rise in its net asset value per share to £438.67 for the half-year to the end of October.
Between April and the end of October, 2020 the managers nudged the portfolio's level of liquidity back up to 57.8% from 55.5%.
The little equity portfolio activity during the half-year, included selling its investment in Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) that had been held since 2009, “due to what we believed to be persistent headwinds to volume growth over the long term”, along with a smaller holding in UK drinks maker AG Barr (LON:BAG), with concerns about environmental scrutiny of the soft drink industry’s packaging and a secular shift in consumer preferences towards healthier alternatives.
An investment was made in Becton Dickinson Inc (NYSE:BDX), described as “a wonderfully diversified portfolio of small-ticket, repeat purchase items that are indispensable to healthcare globally”, with the shares “acquired at an attractive valuation following a prolonged period of dull performance”.
Additions were made to the trust's holdings in American Express Co (NYSE:AXP) and Visa Inc (NYSE:V), as both are expected to benefit from the acceleration in the shift to digital and contactless payment during the pandemic.