THE MANAGER of the European Investment Trust has said that ongoing economic recovery in the region is having a positive impact on the trust’s performance.

In the six months to the end of March the trust made a net asset value total return of 18.8 per cent, outperforming the FTSE All-World Europe ex UK Index by six percentage points.

Craig Armour of Edinburgh Partners said that while the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as US president had suggested that “populist anger might threaten the integrity of the EU”, more recent elections had pointed more towards stability in the region.

“In both the recent Dutch and French elections, the extremist parties did not achieve a breakthrough and there is increased confidence that the EU will continue to adapt and survive,” he said. “Economic data across most of Europe continues to hold up and in some cases an improvement is being seen.

“As ever, there remain political risks, both within Europe and from the rest of the world…. However, our central case is that Europe will continue its economic recovery and that the prospects for European equities remain solid.”

At 21 per cent the bulk of the trust’s assets are invested in France, with the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland also having large weightings.

In a change to its dividend policy the trust will this year start making interim payments, with 9.5p being paid at the end of July.