GENERAL CONSOLIDATED INVESTMENT TRUST
DISTRIBUTION OF HOLDINGS
THE forty-third ordinary general meeting of the General Consoli- dated Investment Trust, Limited was held on January 27th at Winchester House, E.C. Mr. R. B. H. Ottley (chairman of the company) said that the company's general reserve account had been brought up to a figure of £50,000 by a transfer of Lio,000 from the revenue account. The carry-forward, although lower by £590 than the amount brought in, was still substantial at the figure of £24,655. In the geographical distribution of their securities, what little change there was to be observed tended to illustrate a general improvement of the list, which It was the board's constant endeavour to achieve. The percentage of investments in the continent of Europe became 10.19, whereas twelve months ago it was 11.38. Although gross income from investments showed a shrinkage from Eto6,836 to £99,802, this was in great part accounted for by the fact that in 1937 the company was fortunate enough to collect £2,700 in respect of arrears of cumulative dividend, whereas in 1938 only £350 was received under that head. For the first half of the year, revenue was maintained at the high rate of the previous year ; the reduction had all been experienced in the latter half. The stupendous figures of expenditure which rearmament would entail would, of necessity, cast upon the nation a heavy burden, Which might, however, in some measure be alleviated by the extent to which industry might derive benefit from its repercussions. If it were possible for the company to adopt any consistent investment Policy, he suggested it would be to sell such foreign holdings as remained to them and intensify the course they had been following in the past four years of relying almost exclusively upon investments in Great Britain and the British Empire. No longer was geo- graphical distribution of investment a criterion of strength. It was all the more pleasing, therefore, to observe the development taking place in British possessions abroad, particularly in Canada, where the mining industry, which exerted an important influence on the economic life of the country, continued to show steady improvement. But in times such as these, any investment policy must be governed to a great extent by prevailing conditions, and it was increasingly difficult either to buy or to sell on the Stock Exchange even moderate amounts of securities without an entirely disproportionate disturb- ance of their market quotation. The report and accounts were unanimously adopted and a final dividend of 5 per cent., less tax, on the ordinary stock, making, with the Interim dividend, 7 per cent. for the year, was declared.
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