Monthly Update

British Empire Sec & Gen Tst PLC 15 November 2006 BRITISH EMPIRE SECURITIES AND GENERAL TRUST PLC Performance Commentary This investment management report relates to performance figures as at 31 October 2006. Over the month NAV was up 1.3%1. This compares to an increase in the benchmark of 1.9%2, and an increase of 3.0%1 and 1.6%1 for the FTSE All Share and the MSCI World (£) indices respectively. Over three years NAV is up 97.4%1 while the FTSE All Share is up 62.7%1. Manager's Comment The performance of the Japanese stock market has been disappointing this year. This is despite the fact that fundamentally Japan looks interesting. Japanese banks have dealt with their bad loan problems. Land prices in Japan appear to have bottomed out in major cities and are starting to move up again. Corporate Japan is on track for record profits and corporate restructuring has led to rising ROEs. Part of the explanation for the poor performance of the stock market may be the draining of liquidity from the system by the Bank of Japan following the end of its 'quantitative easing' policy. This has implications for other markets also. If the Bank of Japan tightens policy too quickly one would expect to see a strengthening of the Yen and perhaps an unwinding of carry trade speculation similar to what we saw in May. Statistics Value % 1 mo % 1 yr % 3 yr % 5 yr Price (£)1 453.8 0.1 14.7 117.0 167.8 Net Asset Value1 436.7 1.3 16.7 93.0 125.2 Net Asset Value Total Return1 1.3 17.7 97.4 134.9 Benchmark2 (£) 1.9 18.1 59.8 54.8 Annual Returns (%) 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 Price1 51.7 36.0 41.6 -12.2 0.8 MSCI World1 23.0 7.2 20.6 -27.4 -14.1 1 Source: Fundamental Data 2 Datastream Global Growth Investment Trust Index(TR) Source: Thomson Financial Top 10 Equity Holdings % Investor AB 3.44 Alliance Trust 3.16 Jardine Strategic 2.63 Tokyu Corporation 2.37 Sofina 2.32 Electra Private Equity 2.26 NTT Urban Development 2.13 Lundbergforetagen 2.05 Hutchison Whampoa 2.02 Paris Orleans 1.96 Capital Structure Ordinary Shares 160,080,089 10 3/8% Debenture stock 2011 £8,514,940 8 1/8% Debenture stock 2023 £14,875,319 Equities index unsecured loan stock 2013 2,837,000 Gross Assets/Gearing Gross Assets £740 mil. Debt £30.9 mil. Actual Gearing (Debt less cash divided by net asset value) -16.2% Fund Codes Bloomberg Reuters Ticker / ISIN BTEM GB0001335081 Geographical Breakdown Continental Europe 20.5% Japan 15.3% Canada / US 5.0% Asia Pacific 12.8% UK 24.8% Liquidity 19.4% EMEA 2.2% All figures as at 31 October 2006 unless otherwise stated. All sources Asset Value Investors Ltd unless otherwise stated. British Empire Securities Trust is managed by Asset Value Investors Ltd. The price of shares and the income from them may go down as well as up; they can be affected by exchange rate movements between currencies and it is possible that investors may not get back the full amount invested on disposal of the shares. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Investments in emerging markets carries a greater degree of risk, in particular the volatility of the markets and the local custody and registration arrangements, which may be less developed than in more mature markets. There is no guarantee that the market price of shares in Investment Trusts will fully reflect their underlying Net Asset Value (NAV). This Investment Trust should be considered only as part of a balanced portfolio, of which it should not form a disproportionate part. Under no circumstances should this information be considered as an offer, or solicitation, to deal in investments. Issued by Asset Value Investors Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
UK 100