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Investment Trusts
Trusts body defends charges revamp
Critics say the planned replacement of total expense ratios with “ongoing charges” figures will lack transparency, but the AIC says it will make comparisons with open-ended funds easier.
Bias to property is safe as houses
Strong performances in property have prompted investors to consider the asset class, particularly the commercial and residential British markets, which are well regulated and transparent.
Stand by for the big shopping spree
Aberdeen has transformed the trust it took over from Bramdean, turning it into a pure private equity fund that its managers expect to profit from a bargain-hunt by cash-rich corporations.
Small funds should beware a deluge
As IFAs show signs of warming to the appeal of closed-ended funds, experts sound a warning that some trusts might find themselves unable to cope with a flood of inflows in a rising market.
Long-term performers stay in front
Gains for both long and short-term performance show investment trusts outpaced open-ended funds, with small caps and UK growth portfolios delivering top results in the first quarter.
Shopping keeps Latin giant in shape
Brazil’s strong growth belies underlying weaknesses, including a complex taxation system and protectionist tendencies, but consumer demand and falling unemployment bode well.
Market casualty regains lost ground
Market falls last August hit Witan investment trust, wiping out gains from the previous year, but the manager was not spooked to change the gearing, a conviction which, so far, has paid off.
Alliance breaks silence over attacks
Remarks about Alliance Trust by a Winterflood research head were unfair and amounted to a “glass half empty” view, says Evan Bruce-Gardyne, the trust’s head of investor relations.
Three legs outpace the benchmark
The manager of JPMorgan US Smaller Companies transformed the trust with a three-pronged strategy, central to which is an adherence to highly selective picking from 2,000 stocks.
Packing a punch in the long term
The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust has seen good returns in the last decade and the fund’s manager plans to continue this performance with a bullish, long-term view on global growth.
Income focus under Select umbrella
Two of the four funds in the Invesco Perpetual Select Trust have undergone changes in strategy. In the global equity asset class, a change of name reflects an increased targeting of dividends.
View of a golden future ... for some
Investment trusts will have a “head start” in the supposed level playing field after RDR, says Collins Stewart, but it will be those that meet key criteria that will see a surge in demand.
Best of times from the worst of times
The managers of Neuberger Berman Distressed Debt favour companies that are underpinned by significant assets, such as utilities and healthcare facilities, and the results are promising.
Buffeted globetrotter trims its sails
Small-cap holdings in the Henderson Opportunities Trust have taken a battering. But the fund’s manager holds to his conviction that smaller industrial and technology firms offer best value.
Ground rules pay global dividends
While holding the big multinationals that would be expected in a fund aiming for global income, the Brunner trust also seeks out less well-known but reliable dividend-payers at grassroots level.
Thin time for fat buy-outs in Europe
Europe’s credit problems have led to a drop-off in mergers and acquisitions. The Standard Life European Private Equity trust is hoping policymakers’ decisions will lead to renewed activity.
Cloud guarantees a bright outlook
Market conditions hit Polar Capital Technology last year, but the manager is sanguine about the enduring potential of technological innovation, despite a portfolio bias to large companies.
Tried and tested formula still fizzing
The Merchants Trust shares the same long history as a globally recognised drink and aims to emulate its consistency as a product by sticking to a well-established income-slanted approach.
Wider horizon holds more promise
The manager of the Securities Trust of Scotland overhauled the portfolio after its change in mandate, turning a domestic bias into a global one, which, he says, offers more scope for returns.
New batsman aims to up his game
After a change to its benchmark, the new manager of the British Asset Trust tweaked its asset allocations, which, he says will give more flexibility, while at the same time, protecting dividends.
