Martin Currie renames Walker's global trust

Martin Currie has changed the name of its Portfolio investment trust to the Global Portfolio trust to better reflect its global focus.

According to the firm, the new name highlights the product's evolution towards a global equity mandate, a move that gained shareholder approval back in May.

Until the beginning of June this year, the trust was benchmarked against the FTSE All Share, before transferring to the FTSE World Index.

The trust also announced its interim results today, showing net asset value per share returned 2.5% over the six months to 31 July 2011, outperforming its benchmark, the board said.

Manager Tom Walker said: "Our outperformance has stemmed largely from good stock selection, which is where we aim to add the most value for shareholders. PT Astra International and Apple were the standout performers and both remain among our largest investment positions," he said.

"We expect interest rates to remain low in developed economies for several years and they may soon start falling in developing countries, once speculation and inflation slow down there.

"However, this backdrop is better than in 2008, because the banking system is somewhat better capitalised now. We see attractive valuations in many global companies. They have strong balance sheets and robust cash flow which leaves them well-placed to weather slower economic conditions."