The 100-year-old Murray International Trust warned yesterday that it was "not difficult to construct a pessimistic case for global equity markets, given the economic uncertainty that currently prevails and the recent long run of good market performance".

As markets tumbled yesterday, John Trott, former chairman of Standard Life who now chairs the trust run by Aberdeen Asset Management, went on: "We are cautious about the prospect for growth in North America and Europe, and feel that high inflation might bring additional difficulties.

"Both the US and UK markets face tough challenges, but rapidly improving economic fundamentals in Asia and emerging markets areas, where we are very well represented, can go a long way to picking up the slack in the global growth."

The trust posted a 13.8% net asset value total return, well ahead of its benchmark's 9.2% in the calendar and financial year 2006.

The dividend will rise by 9.8% to 7.6p.

The key positive influences were significant overweight positions in Asia and Latin America, while large underweighting in the US (in a year tipped by many for a strong US showing) contributed positively to relative outperformance. Strong stock selection enhanced capital returns in emerging markets.