The NTA in April 2016 was 1.31 after paying a dividend. It's now...

The NTA in April 2016 was 1.31 after paying a dividend. It's now 1.27 but it has paid two dividends in that time.

So the NTA is down 3% but there has been more than that in dividends. They've chewed into capital to pay the recent reduced dividend, and it will be even harder to pay the next. But they haven't really lost money. On an NTA + dividend basis it's been a slightly positive return.

But where you really come unstuck is that it's not just about NTA, you're exposed to the premium/discount to NTA, ie: the actual share price. In those terms, Sharesight says the past year has been really bad, because the fund isn't performing very well and sentiment has turned against it (because, as I said, we've been in a bull market that JB can't seem to get his head around -- "off with his head!!" indeed):


But you do have to be fair and remember these are recommended as long-term investments, so look at five years:

That's better, you won't get 11.42% p.a in a bank, and their strategy keeps your capital fairly safe. VAS over five years has returned 11.04% p.a so ALF has actually outperformed.

But for me, it's not worth riding out this rough patch when you're exposed to the share price fluctuation and sentiment towards ALF has turned and could get worse. If you're in it for the long term it will probably be fine, but I just don't think this is the right moment to have a lot allocated to this kind of fund.