Aberdeen’s £2 billion Murray International Trust has reported a net asset value total return of 21.9% and a share price total return of 36% for 2025.
Murray International Trust said this compares to a 12.6% increase in the fund’s benchmark.
The investment trust’s discount narrowed steadily and closed completely by December 2025, with the share price finishing the year at a 3% premium (2024: 7.5% discount).
“The portfolio’s truly global and diverse composition was the primary driver of returns, demonstrating resilience during the volatile first half of the year, and keeping pace as markets rallied to new highs in the second half,” said Murray International.
“Companies outside the US delivered notably strong results, and significant exposures in Latin America and Asia contributed meaningfully to performance.
“The strongest contributors spanned a wide range of geographies and industries, this breadth highlights the value of the portfolio’s balanced and diversified positioning.”
Strongest contributors included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Singapore Telecommunications, Broadcom, Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco.
Total dividend for the year rose more than 5% to 12.4p per share.
Murray International Trust chair Virginia Holmes said: “By almost any metric, this has been a strong year for your company which has delivered robust absolute and relative performance.”
The fund’s managers Martin Connaghan and Samantha Fitzpatrick wrote in their outlook: “Artificial Intelligence continues to be the defining theme of the current market cycle, driving extraordinary gains and reshaping corporate investment priorities.
“While its long-term transformative potential is clear, the rally remains highly concentrated, leaving investors to balance powerful structural tailwinds against the risk of speculative excess.
“Valuations appear to be supported by current growth expectations, but the pace of investment and earnings expansion will inevitably slow at some point. We remain exposed to the AI theme on your behalf, while remaining mindful of the scale of that exposure following recent strong performance.
“If AI is to be as seismic and transformative as many expect, history reminds us that no major technological revolution has unfolded seamlessly or without periods of dislocation elsewhere in the economy-or without interruptions in monetisation for the companies involved.
“It is natural to look back to the late stages of the 1999 Tech Bubble and draw parallels around market concentration and elevated multiples, and to caution against justifying valuations with the phrase ‘this time is different.’ Yet we must also recognise that when markets become concentrated and expectations run high, the margin for error narrows and gravity becomes a powerful force.
“Selectivity will remain critical. Our focus will continue to be on quality, diversification and disciplined risk management as markets navigate these conflicting signals. While recent performance has been encouraging, the broader backdrop is likely to remain noisy.
“We will continue to concentrate on the factors we can control – challenging portfolio holdings, scrutinising positioning, maintaining a long-term perspective and using bouts of market weakness to strengthen alignment with our investment objective.
“Our aim remains unchanged: to deliver attractive, growing income alongside long-term capital growth, supporting shareholders’ wealth creation over time.”