JPMORGAN GLOBAL GROWTH & INCOME PLC
UNAUDITED HALF YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED
31ST DECEMBER 2025
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income plc (the ‘Company’ or ‘JGGI’) announces its half year results for the six-months ended 31st December 2025.
Legal Entity Identifier: 5493007C3I0O5PJKR078
Information disclosed in accordance with DTR 4.2.2
HIGHLIGHTS
- NAV total return of +9.1% (with debt at fair value) compared with +13.3% for the MSCI All Countries World Index in sterling terms (total return with net dividends reinvested) (the “Benchmark”). Share price total return of +7.1% for the period.
- Five year cumulative NAV total return of +90.6% compared with +72.7% for the Benchmark; five year share price cumulative total return of +79.4%.
- Ten year cumulative NAV total return of +275.2% compared with 232.0% for the Benchmark; ten year share price cumulative total return of +288.0%.
- The Company remains one of the top performers in its peer group over five and ten years.
- The Company repurchased 19,086,840 shares into Treasury at a total cost of £109.7 million at a 3.0% average discount, adding 0.6p to NAV per share.
- Dividends: two interim dividends of 5.75p per share (total 11.50p in the period) were paid on 7th October and 30th December 2025; for the financial year commencing 1st July 2025, the Board intends to pay dividends totalling 23.0p per share (5.75p per quarter), a 0.9% year on year increase. Since adoption of the enhanced policy in 2016, dividends rose by 613%, with 22.80p paid for FY2025; a third interim dividend has been declared for payment on 9th April 2026 (record 6th March; ex div 5th March).
James Macpherson, Chairman of JGGI, commented:
“Despite the underperformance in recent quarters, the Company’s long term track record remains resilient, and it has significantly outperformed the Benchmark over the last five years. My fellow Directors and I share the Portfolio Managers’ view that the Company is well placed to navigate the current challenging market environment, and to benefit as long term fundamentals resume their role as key market drivers… We are therefore confident that the Company will continue to deliver attractive returns to shareholders over the long term.”
Portfolio Managers, Helge Skibeli, James Cook and Sam Witherow, commented:
“We continue to believe that global stock picking across our core investment universe offers attractive rewards for investors over the long-term, and we see many well-priced opportunities. The Company has exposure to several long-term trends, such as the rapid adoption of AI tools and cloud computing, which we expect will underpin market returns over the medium to long-term.
“While the extent and speed of the current relative drawdown have been sharp… we have seen similar market environments in the past… Historically, these market shifts have typically been short lived and the rebound is often substantial… we are confident that our investment process harbours pent up opportunities for alpha generation.”
Chairman’s Statement
Introduction
The six months ending 31st December 2025 saw a positive period for global equity markets. However, conditions remained volatile as a result of geopolitical events and the uncertainty surrounding US trade and economic policy. Following initial concerns in the first half of 2025 over President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, the second half of the year saw easing trade tensions and a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) investment. This boosted stocks considered to be AI winners, albeit technology stocks had mixed results as high expectations and rising capital expenditure fuelled concerns of an AI bubble.
Performance
The Company generated a positive return over the six months to 31st December 2025, although its NAV total return of 9.1% lagged the 13.3% return from the MSCI AC World Index (the Benchmark). Despite the underperformance in recent quarters, the Company’s long-term track record remains resilient and it has significantly outperformed the Benchmark over the last five years, with a NAV total return of 90.6% compared with 72.7% for the Benchmark.
Against the backdrop of volatile markets, the underperformance in the second half of 2025 was largely due to stock selection, with the portfolio underperforming in a market that strongly favoured short term momentum over long term fundamentals. For over a year now the Portfolio Managers have been wary of the sustainability of profit margins and the degree to which momentum has been a factor driving stock returns. Consequently they have had a preference for higher-quality stocks that could demonstrate superior and resilient earnings growth but this strategy has not been rewarded over the period. Positions in traditionally defensive areas, particularly high quality consumer and healthcare companies, detracted from returns as earnings downgrades proved deeper and more prolonged than anticipated. In addition, the portfolio’s underweight exposure to certain large technology stocks weighed on relative returns. The Manager discusses recent market conditions and stock selection in further detail in the Investment Manager’s Report below.
Performance attribution
Six months ended 31st December 2025
| % | % | |
| Contributions to total returns | ||
| Benchmark return | 13.3 | |
| Asset allocation | (0.5) | |
| Stock selection | (3.8) | |
| Currency effect | 0.1 | |
| Gearing/cash | 0.2 | |
| Investment Manager’s contribution | (4.0) | |
| Portfolio total return | 9.3 | |
| Management fee/other expenses | (0.2) | |
| Net asset value return – prior to structural effects | 9.1 | |
| Structural effects | ||
| Share buy-backs | 0.1 | |
| Net asset value total return – Debt at par value | 9.2 | |
| Impact of Fair Valuation of Debt | (0.1) | |
| Net asset value total return – Debt at fair value | 9.1 | |
| Ordinary Share Price Total Return | 7.1 |
A glossary of terms and APMs is provided on pages 33 to 36 of the full Half-Year Report.
Dividend Policy
Shareholders should be aware that the Company does not have a progressive dividend policy. However, since the adoption of the enhanced dividend policy in 2016, shareholders in the Company will have seen an increase in their dividends of 613% based on a total dividend of 22.80 pence per share for the financial year ended 30th June 2025, equivalent to almost 24.5% per annum. For the current financial year commencing 1st July 2025, the Company intends to pay dividends totalling 23.0 pence per share (5.75 pence per share per quarter), which represents an increase of 0.9% on the last financial year’s total dividend.
The third interim dividend with respect to the current year was declared by the Board on 11th February 2026 and will be paid on 9th April 2026. The record date is 6th March 2026, and the ex-dividend date is 5th March 2026. The final interim dividend will be declared in May 2026 and paid in June 2026.
The Company’s capacity to part-fund dividends from its significant level of reserves provides it with the means to meet our investors’ desire for regular income, combined with clarity on dividend payments for the coming year. It also allows our Portfolio Managers to invest where they see the most attractive opportunities, as they are not constrained by the need to invest only in high dividend-paying companies to meet the Company’s dividend policy. Instead, they are free to invest in non- or low-dividend paying companies, with a view to benefitting from the long-term capital growth prospects of these businesses. The Company’s distributable reserves stood at £2.3 billion in aggregate as at 31st December 2025.
Share buybacks and Treasury
The Company’s long-term policy of repurchasing its ordinary shares with the aim of maintaining an average discount of around 5% or less, calculated with debt at fair value, remains unchanged.
During the review period, a total of 19,086,840 shares were repurchased into Treasury at a total cost of £109.7 million at a weighted-average discount of 3.0%, adding 0.6p to the NAV per share. Following these repurchases, there were 20,769,292 ordinary shares held in Treasury at the end of the period.
In the six months to 31st December 2025, the Company’s share price traded within the range stated in the discount policy above and, at the end of the half year period, the discount was 2.6%. The Board has sought to manage the volatility of the Company’s discount by actively repurchasing shares, ensuring it does not drift wider than 5% in normal market conditions.
Since 31st December 2025, the Company has bought back an additional 12,899,322 shares into Treasury at a weighted-average discount of 3.1%, adding 0.3p to the NAV per share. The share price discount is currently 2.6%. The Board continues to monitor the impact of share buybacks on both the share price and the discount.
Gearing
The Company’s gearing policy is set by the Board and remains unchanged. Our Portfolio Managers use gearing flexibly and continually assess opportunities to deploy it when there is potential to enhance shareholder value. At the start of the period the Company had net cash of 0.6%, with gearing varying between net cash of 1.3% and gearing of 1.8% during the period. As explained in the Investment Manager’s Report, the Portfolio Managers remain cautious near-term and this is reflected in the Company’s net cash position of 0.5% at the end of December 2025.
In its last annual report, the Company reported that it had taken on €30 million of senior secured notes as part of the combination with Henderson International Income Trust plc (HINT). It also disclosed the purchase of the remaining 0.06% (£125) issue of its £200,000 secured 4.5% Perpetual Debenture 1895 which, consequentially, has now been fully redeemed.
Currency Hedging
The Company continues its passive currency hedging strategy, which has been in place since 2009. The strategy aims to make stock selection the predominant driver of overall portfolio performance relative to the Benchmark. This is a risk reduction measure, designed to eliminate most of the differences between the portfolio’s currency exposure and that of the Company’s Benchmark. As a result, the returns derived from the portfolio’s exposure to currencies may differ materially from that of the Company’s competitors, some of whom opt instead to fully or partially hedge currency exposure over the short-term.
Half Year Report review
In light of the four mergers undertaken by the Company in the past four years and the resultant increased complexity of the financial statements, the Board has engaged its auditors, Ernst & Young LLP, to undertake a review of this Half Year Report. The Board will decide annually whether such a review is required, dependent upon the level of corporate activity undertaken by the Company during the year.
The Board
As disclosed in the Company’s last Annual Report, Richard Hills, the former chairman of HINT, joined our Board for a transition period of 12 months from May 2025, lifting the number of directors to seven. The Board also disclosed that Jane Lewis, who holds the role of Senior Independent Director (SID), will stay on the Board until May 2026, at which time both Jane and Richard will retire. Following Jane’s retirement from the Board, I am pleased to announce that Sarah Whitney will take over the roles of SID and Chair of the Nomination Committee. Upon assuming these roles, Sarah will step down as Chair of the Audit Committee, with Rakesh Thakrar succeeding her. On behalf of my fellow Directors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard for his invaluable contributions during the combination process and Jane for her dedication to the Company since joining the Board in September 2022, and in particular for her exceptional dedication and insight as SID and Chair of the Nomination Committee.
After close consideration of its composition and succession plans, the Board has decided that having five independent non-executive directors is appropriate for the time being, while still satisfying the Board’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity. This decision will be kept under review as part of the Board’s ongoing succession planning.
Stay in Touch
The Board would like to ensure that all shareholders are kept well-informed about the Company’s progress, and we would like to encourage those who have not already done so to please consider signing up for our email updates. You can opt in by scanning the QR Code on page 2 of the full Half-Year Report or via the following link: tinyurl.com/JGGI-Sign-Up.
Outlook
The Board recognises that this has been a disappointing period for relative performance with current events in the Middle East adding to uncertainty. However, history suggests that periods when company valuations disconnect from their long-term earnings potential are often temporary and, in the case of this fund, since the ‘dot-com’ break in 2001, the subsequent recovery in performance has exceeded the previous downturn.
My fellow Directors and I share the Portfolio Managers’ view that the Company is well placed to navigate the current challenging market environment, and to benefit as long-term fundamentals resume their role as key market drivers. Importantly in this respect, the portfolio is exposed to several powerful structural themes, including the AI revolution and cloud computing, which are expected to support earnings growth over the medium to long-term.
The Board also believes that the Portfolio Managers’ ability to draw on the deep resources of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s global research platform and proprietary analytical tools, provides the Company with a durable competitive advantage. We are therefore confident that the Company will continue to deliver attractive returns to shareholders over the long-term, and look forward to reporting back to you on the Company’s future progress.
Thank you for your ongoing support in the Company.
James Macpherson
Chairman