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Investment Trusts
How to play a surge in Chinese domestic consumption
Thursday 01 Aug 2019A number of global, emerging market and thematic investment trusts put money to work in China, but there are just two dedicated China trusts within the investment companies sector, namely JPMorgan Chinese ( JMC ) and Fidelity China Special Situations ( FCSS ) . This pair have had a tough time of...
Alliance Trust yet to beat its target with new strategy
Thursday 25 Jul 2019Now into its third year under a new strategy born out of pressure from activist investors Elliott Advisors and to a lesser degree Laxey Partners, Alliance Trust’s ( ATST ) shares are trading at an all-time high and investors are enjoying double-digit returns so far in 2019. Elliott Advisors is no...
European trust sharpens proposition in fight against passives
Thursday 18 Jul 2019Fund managers are increasingly sharpening their proposition in the fight against competition from lower-cost tracker funds. Among them is John Bennett of Henderson European Focus Trust ( HEFT ) where the investment trust has amended its structure to give it capacity to make greater bets by holding...
Surf the ‘third wave’ of healthcare innovation with Syncona
Thursday 11 Jul 2019Life science focused investment trust Syncona ( SYNC ) generated an excellent net asset value (NAV) total return of 37.9% for the year to 31 March 2019, building on the previous year’s impressive 18.7% advance. Following a share price drop from April’s 294p high point to 223p, this well-followed...
Which Nick Train fund should you buy?
Thursday 04 Jul 2019It is not that unusual for fund managers to run more than one portfolio – and when that applies to someone with a stellar track record like Nick Train it raises the question of which fund investors should buy to gain exposure to their expertise. Sometimes known as the king of buy-and-hold investing...
Wide dispersion of discounts and premiums among private equity trusts
Thursday 27 Jun 2019There is an unusually wide spread between the premiums and discounts in the private equity-focused investment trust space. We would normally expect such products to trade below the value of their underlying assets yet the sector currently has some trading on discounts as wide as 40% and premiums of...
John Laing Environmental looks beyond wind and solar
Thursday 20 Jun 2019Like when a little-known band comes out with a banger and then everyone likes it, John Laing Environmental Assets ( JLEN ) is looking to tilt its portfolio as its biggest exposures, wind (43%) and solar (25%), have become too much of a scene. Citing ‘competitive pressure’ in the sectors, JLEN is...
Syncona sees surge in net asset value growth
Thursday 20 Jun 2019INVESTMENT TRUST Syncona ( SYNC ) has reported 38% growth in net asset value (NAV) for the year ended 31 March. It invests in life science businesses and the past year’s performance has been helped by valuation increases to its stakes in Autolus, Nightstar and Blue Earth. Syncona says it will no...
Why cash levels have shot up at Schroder AsiaPacific
Thursday 20 Jun 2019Matthew Dobbs, the manager of Schroder AsiaPacific ( SDP ) , has increased the fund’s cash levels to their highest level for at least a decade according to investment bank Stifel. While Dobbs acknowledges Asian markets are modestly cheap, he is concerned about the weak growth outlook and the scope...
What is the future of Woodford Patient Capital Trust?
Thursday 13 Jun 2019Following the suspension of LF Woodford Equity Income (BLRZQ73) , the big question for a lot of retail investors is what’s going happen to Woodford Patient Capital Trust ( WPCT ) ? Equity Income and Patient Capital have a big overlap in holdings, so what happens in one fund can have a big impact on...