Henderson Smaller Companies (ticker: HSL) was launched in 1887. It has been a small-cap trust since 1982, but only entirely focused on UK small-caps since 1999. After a difficult period for HSL, Neil Hermon was appointed lead manager in November 2002, and he refocused its portfolio using a growth at a reasonable price (GARP) investing style. He went on to outperform his benchmark in 16 out of 22 years, with an annualised NAV return of 12.1% and an excess return of 1.7 percentage points per year, assisted by an average gearing level of some 10%. Hermon retired last month, and Indriatti van Hien...
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UPDATE: A revised version of this profile was published in October 2025.
Although it suffered badly in the dot com bust, Henderson Smaller Companies has been a highly consistent performer since Neil Hermon was appointed lead manager in November 2002. Hermon has beaten his UK small-cap benchmark in 16 out of 18 financial years to date using a blend of quality and growth at a reasonable price. With assets of just over £1bn, this trust holds a widely diversified portfolio of over 100 companies with only a handful of positions greater than 2% and a fairly low portfolio turnover. It is a member of...
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