magazine archive
magazine archive
Investment Trusts
Lowland fund manager says portfolio diversification is essential in the current market
Thursday 26 Jul 2018A leading fund manager has warned of the importance of portfolio diversification in the current economic climate. James Henderson, who co-manages Lowland Investment Company ( LWI ) , says the UK economy is very ‘patchy’ at present and diversification is needed to get around pockets of weakness...
Why it’s all about yield for Merchants Trust
Thursday 19 Jul 2018The manager of Merchants Trust ( MRCH ) , Simon Gergel, doesn’t share the widely-held view that dividend growth is more important than dividend yield. As an example, let’s compare a hypothetical company offering a dividend yield of 8% but no dividend growth with another company offering a 2%...
How refinancing debt could unlock more dividends and value for investment trusts
Thursday 19 Jul 2018Recent activity at Brunner Investment Trust ( BUT ) helps shine a light on the expensive debt carried by some investment trusts and how refinancing these borrowings could be a catalyst for trusts to trade on higher valuations and pay out more in dividends to their shareholders. Unlike traditional...
SLI Property shrugs off property market concerns with new spending spree
Thursday 12 Jul 2018There are plenty of distractions for an investor in UK property at present as the Brexit process continues along its torturous route, yet the manager of SLI Property Income ( SLI ) Jason Baggaley likes to maintain a simple approach. In his words, ‘I like to buy things that excite me’. More...
Second time lucky for music investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund?
Thursday 05 Jul 2018It has been a year since Hipgnosis Songs Fund first announced its intention to float on London’s Main Market. After a failed attempt to float last summer the trust is back again with a lower profile listing. The investment trust, which wants to take advantage of a shift from CDs to music streaming...
Are big investors becoming more confident in UK equities again?
Thursday 28 Jun 2018The main UK stock market indices have struggled this year and many of the biggest investors rank UK stocks as the most unpopular asset class. Is now the time to go against the grain and increase exposure, buying when others are uninterested? We believe it is. A survey by Bank of America Merrill...
New managers with old habits should keep Scottish American moving forward
Thursday 28 Jun 2018The relatively new management team at global income investment trust Scottish American Investment Company ( SCAM ) have high standards to meet given its impressive 38 years straight of dividend growth. Baillie Gifford’s James Dow and Toby Ross took over management from Dominic Neary less than a...
Power price declines put renewable trusts under pressure
Thursday 21 Jun 2018The spotlight has fallen on infrastructure investment trusts after two separate closed-end funds have come under fire from analysts at investment bank Stifel. It is negative on the immediate prospects for NextEnergy Solar Fund ( NESF ) and John Laing Environmental Assets ( JLEN ) largely because of...
Promising early signs from rebooted investment trust
Thursday 21 Jun 2018The first set of results to include a full 12 months’ trading since the merger of BlackRock Income Strategies Trust and Aberdeen UK Tracker make for positive reading at Aberdeen Diversified Income and Growth ( ADIG ) . The trust was launched in its current format in February 2017 and the latest...
The story behind this small cap investment trust’s consistent outperformance
Thursday 14 Jun 2018H enderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust ( HSL ) is managed with aplomb by Janus Henderson’s Neil Hermon. He has outperformed the Numis Smaller Companies benchmark in thirteen of the last fourteen financial years. Boasting £845m of assets under management, the trust aims to maximise...