Alliance Trust has said continuing uncertainty over devolution will damage businesses and the economy and it remains ready to "protect" its shareholders and customers.

Last year Alliance said it would create a string of English-registered subsidiaries in the event of a yes vote, and chairman Karin Forseke returned to the issue as Alliance unveiled full-year results which shifted focus away from pure performance to dividends and costs..

She said: "While the debate over the extent of future devolution continues, we would urge all participants to recognise that an extended period of uncertainty is not in the interests either of business or the economy as a whole and we remain ready to act as necessary to protect our shareholders' and customers' interests."

Questioned on the issue, chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox said: "There was a huge amount of high emotion last year which I think led people to sit on their hands or choose to do things differently. We are vigilant and if things were to unfold in a slightly different way in future we would be ready to act...this hasn't gone completely off the agenda."

Ms Garrett-Cox said about 70 per cent of the group's shareholders and customers were South of the Border. "We established the companies but they are sitting on the shelf should we ever need them."

Alliance has declared a special dividend which means its payout rises 14.3 per cent, and Ms Garrett-Cox said the consistently rising dividend was "an important differentiator for the trust"

The £2.6bn investment trust had achieved a "complete contrast" in the second half to its first half, Ms Garrett-Cox said, adding net asset value growth of 7.8per cent to the 0.3per cent of the first half to give 8.1per cent. The world index grew by 11.2 per cent and the all-share by 1.7per cent.

In September investment chief Ilario di Bon was replaced by Peter Michaelis as head of equities and Simon Clements as equity manager of the trust portfolio.

Both have a background in socially responsible and sustainable investment, and Alliance has stressed a "new focus and purpose" in managing the trust along ESG (environmental social and governance) principles.

Many analysts have yet to be convinced, and Numis Securities said yesterday: "We believe a sustained improvement in performance would be needed to turnaround investor sentiment towards the stock."

Ms Garrett-Cox said the trust could boast "second quartile in the total peer group across every single time-frame, a record only five of the 36 trusts have been able to achieve".

However, its direct 'big six' rivals Scottish Mortgage, Witan, Caledonia and Foreign & Colonial have achieved three-year growth of 65per cent to 98per cent and one-year growth of 20per cent to 25per cent, while Alliance managed 47per cent and 13 per cent respectively, according to Lipper figures from ILP Moneyfacts. Ms Garrett-Cox commented that Alliance was ahead of Scottish Investment Trust, Witan and Monks over one year and ahead of Monks and Scottish over two to five years.

She said the investment team changes had prompted "positive feedback" and the portfolio was already delivering good results.

The chief executive also pointed to a "sharp reduction in costs", with the charge ratio down 20per cent from 0.75per cent to 0.6per cent. She said the trust was positioned as "a strongly-performing low-risk portfolio with top quartile dividend growth and low quartile on costs". The 12.38p total payout includes a 2.546p special dividend.

Alliance said its savings business which supports around 160 jobs in Dundee had outperformed the market last year, increasing assets by 19per cent to £6.4bn, against market growth of 13per cent. Ms Garrett-Cox said growth had continued strongly in 2015 with assets almost at £7bn. "We think that business is very well positioned for the pension changes and how things will unfold this year."

Its loss-making investment subsidiary recorded net inflows of £88m and ended the year with third party assets under management of £1.9bn. Losses were reduced by 23per cent to £3.2m and ATI is said to be "among the top three firms in the UK focused on sustainable investing".

The best-performing 2014 assets were ironically private equity, which Alliance is exiting, and mineral rights in the US, which date back to the group's Victorian heritage.