The wreaths are up, and the mince pies are in the oven. And in the investment world too we have our own end-of-year traditions. Foremost amongst these is the “Santa rally”, specifically the old lore that the market invariably performs strongly over the festive period. But is it true? And if so, can trust investors […]
Investment manager Tom Slater discusses how Scottish Mortgage’s portfolio companies are driving global change across AI, digital platforms, and electrification. As with any investment, your capital is at risk. Performance The six months to 30 September 2025 have been a period of meaningful progress, not only in markets, but more importantly, in the companies leading […]
Annual results from Schroder European Real Estate highlight the challenges for incoming chair Phil Redding and fund manager Jeff O’Dwyer, Custodian Property Income reports good half-year results and self-storage group Big Yellow confirms takeover talks with Blackstone have ended. Schroder European Real Estate (SERE), the £83m listed property fund weighed down by a French tax […]
Barings Emerging EMEA Opportunities (BEMO) is hiking dividends and streamlining its investments as the £87m investment trust looks to win back the large minority of disaffected shareholders who voted against the company’s continuation in October. Outgoing chair Frances Daley said BEMO had delivered an “outstanding” annual result with a 28.3% investment return for the year […]
Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) has issued a new statement as it hits back against Saba’s latest requisition notice. The board says that it recommends that shareholders take no action and await a further announcement from the company. The chair Jonathan Simpson-Dent had this to say:“Saba has for a second time launched a power grab calling for […]
In results for the 12 months ended 30 September 2025, the board of Schroder AsiaPacific (SDP) observes that the trust has delivered average annual NAV returns of 1.5% over the past 10 years – well ahead of the average 9.8% return on its benchmark. More recently, NAV returns have been marginally behind the index (+15.7% […]
Julian Cane, the well-regarded manager of CT UK Capital and Income (CTUK), plans to step down as manager of the trust with effect from 1 January 2026. He will be succeeded by Dominic Younger. Over Julian’s tenure, the NAV total return has been 535% and the share price return 567%. For contrast, the FTSE All-Share […]
PRS REIT (PRSR) has published a circular ahead of a liquidation vote planned for 5 January 2026. The sale of the trust’s portfolio is expected to complete on 11 December 2025. That means that the estimated amount available for distribution will be close to the NAV per share of 114.9p. If you are a shareholder […]
As one of the co-managers, Spencer Adair, approaches his retirement next March, Monks Investment Trust’s (MNKS) interims to end October 2025 show it outperforming the World Index in NAV terms and benefitting from a narrowing of its discount. The NAV return for the period was +29.2% and for the share price +35.2%, which both compare […]
Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT) has released annual results for the year to 30 September 2025, marking a centenary year overshadowed by another period of weak performance and material underperformance versus its benchmark. NAV total return was essentially flat at -0.1% (2024: +8.2%), while the share price delivered a total return of 2.3% against a […]
Oakley Capital Investments (OCI) has confirmed that it will contribute around £8m indirectly to the acquisition of Paraty Tech, following Oakley Capital Fund VI’s agreement to invest in the Spanish hotel demand-generation specialist. The commitment represents OCI’s share of Fund VI’s exposure to the transaction. Oakley says that Paraty Tech, which was founded in 2012 […]
NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) has published interim results for the six months to 30 September 2025, a period that combined strong operational delivery with further pressure on valuations. NAV per share fell from 95.1p to 88.8p, largely reflecting lower third-party forecasts for UK power prices and battery revenues, as well as the impact of dividends […]
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) has issued a formal response to the UK Government’s consultation on potential changes to inflation indexation within the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme. In its response, UKW’s manager, Schroders Greencoat, warns that the proposals risk undermining investor confidence while failing to deliver the intended benefit of lower consumer bills. It says that […]
Is a 49% share price discount a bargain or a deterrent? Augmentum Fintech (AUGM) made some inroads arguing the former today (Tuesday) as its shares gained 3p, or 3.7%, to 84.8p following encouraging half-year results. They went on to stand at 89.1p on Friday, up 9% on the week, reducing the discount to 44% after […]
Update: Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA) and stablemate Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) want to merge, offering investors a 40% exit, but activist hedge fund Saba Capital, which owns around 30% of both investment trusts, is opposed. At a meeting yesterday, Saba was presented with the proposal, the product of advanced talks between the two boards of […]
Half-year results from Personal Assets (PNL), the £1.7bn absolute return fund, show its fund managers hiked the amount invested in equities by more than four percentage points in the half-year to 30 October, even as they prepared the defensive portfolio for a bursting in the US stock market bubble. Sebastian Lyon and Charlotte Yonge of Troy Asset Management said “somewhat paradoxically” they had increased equities from 36.7% to 41% in a […]
TR Property (TRY), the £1bn pan-European real estate fund, is on track to restoring dividend cover after seeing revenue rise 23% in the first half of its financial year. The 5%-yielder, which pays two dividends a year, lifted the interim payout to 5.75p per share up 1.8% from 5.65p a year ago. Revenue per share jumped 1.91p […]
Big Yellow (BYG) shares fell 6.5% in late trading yesterday on reports that Blackstone has walked away from talks over its proposed takeover of the UK’s largest self-storage business. In October the US investment group said it was at the “preliminary stage” of assessing whether to make an offer for a company with a then […]
Plans for Schiehallion (MNTN), the £1.1bn Baillie Gifford private equity fund, to become an investment trust hang in the balance after influential proxy vote adviser Institutional Shareholder Services recommended investors vote against the investment company at an extraordinary general meeting next week. Schiehallion, an investor in Tik-Tok owner ByteDance and SpaceX and other unquoted tech […]
Update: HICL Infrastructure (HICL) has pulled out of its proposed merger with InfraRed Capital stable mate The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) following an outcry from many shareholders. In a statement HICL said: “Both boards remain convinced of the strategic rationale for the combination. However, following broad engagement with shareholders, the HICL board determined that it […]
CT Private Equity (CTPE) fund manager Hamish Mair is to retire next May after running the investment trust for 26 years. Mair, who helped launch the then Martin Currie Capital Return Trust in 1999, will leave investment group Columbia Threadneedle and step down as CTPE’s lead manager after its annual general meeting. He will be […]
Activist Robert Naylor has taken over the wind-down of Aquila European Renewables (AERI) having been appointed chair on Friday to replace Ian Nolan who had served at the helm of the fund’s board since launch in 2019. Shares in the £141m renewables fund jumped from 35 euro cents to 37.3 at the news, narrowing their […]
This budget will probably be remembered for two things – obviously the bizarre early release by the OBR but also the, almost as perplexing, plans for a mansion tax. It was packed with short-term political manoeuvring that sadly took precedence over long-term growth initiatives, but there were a couple of positive spots. Reforming the ISA […]
After decades of dedication to growing actively managed strategies within listed fund structures, investment trusts and REITs, I thought I had a fairly comprehensive view of the landscape. But reading our latest market overview research, European active ETFS – A growing and evolving market this week was a timely reminder of how much the investment […]
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure (FGEN) is on track to deliver covered full-year dividends of 7.96p per share, offering investors a 12% yield at the current depressed share price standing at a 37% discount to net asset value (NAV). Chair Ed Warner pointed to a more diverse portfolio than other renewables funds for a comparatively resilient performance […]
Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) chair Patrick Cox is to step down in January, six months earlier than previously indicated, with Angus Gordon Lennox, one of two board appointments made last month, succeeding him on 19 January. Lennox, chair of Aberforth Geared Value & Income (AGVI), former chair of Mercantile (MRC) investment trust and former […]
The growing inference capabilities of AI models can enhance business-critical software used by companies to analyse data, automate workflows and optimise processes. Rapid progress in ‘training’ artificial intelligence models paves the way for AI’s deployment in a spectrum of real-world applications. As trained models become capable of independently making decisions or predictions based on new […]
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has urged shareholders in Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) to vote in the forthcoming general meeting called by Saba Capital yesterday as its board rejected the activist hedge fund’s renewed attempt to replace its board. Jonathan Simpson-Dent, chair of the £700m global smaller companies investment trust, said the board was “disappointed” […]
Fund management group M&G, a 3.4% shareholder in HICL Infrastructure (HICL), has joined rebel investors in calling for it to abandon a planned £5.3bn merger with The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG). According to The Times, M&G managers have written to the HICL board saying they can see “no strategic nor financial rationale for the combination” […]
The flotation of Mexican gas pipeline operator Esentia Energy has proven a disappointment for Partners Group Private Equity (PEY) which has had to write down the value of what was its 11th biggest holding. The £708m London-listed fund invests in the private equity funds of Switzerland’s Partners Group, the majority owner of Esentia, which cut […]
