Another investment trust bites the dust: Abrdn’s Asia Dragon set to merge October 28, 2024 Abrdn’s chronically underperforming Asia Dragon trust is set to merge with Invesco’s Asia investment trust. Despite being the larger of the two trusts, the £682m Asia Dragon trust will be taken over by the £219m Invesco Asia trust, which analysts said was due to the latter’s better performance. Abrdn’s Asia Dragon launched a strategic review [...]
Greencoat UK Wind hit by low power generation as share buybacks continue October 25, 2024 The value of Greencoat UK Wind’s underlying assets dipped by 0.4 per cent across the quarter as power generation came in nine per cent below budget. “We suspect that many of the managers’ expectations have been optimistically biased,” said Stifel analyst Iain Scouller. “We think we will see a similar generation undershoot at many of [...]
Bellevue Healthcare hit by ‘surprise’ shareholder exodus October 15, 2024 The £670m Bellevue Healthcare trust has been plunged into turmoil today after more than a third of its shareholders said they wanted to pull their cash from the fund. As the fund launched its annual redemption scheme, which allows investors to cash out for the price of the trust’s underlying assets, some 36 per cent [...]
Literacy Capital swaps charity donations for private equity fees October 8, 2024 Private equity investment trust Literacy Capital is cutting down on its mission of paying out charitable donations, while upping the fee paid out to management. The only investment trust set up with a charitable objective, it has given £10m to literacy charities in the UK since it was created in 2017. Now, the trust will [...]
3i Infrastructure set to exit stake in French green energy firm October 7, 2024 FTSE 250 investment trust 3i Infrastructure is poised to sell its stake in French independent green energy operator Valorem in a deal worth roughly €309m (£258m).
Are REITs on course for a recovery? October 1, 2024 Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have had a tough time over the past two years as central banks hiked interest rates and the property market was plunged into a downturn. Not a single one of the 33 REITs listed in London are currently trading at a premium, with the average share price is sitting on [...]
3i Group: Inside Britain’s biggest retailer you’ve probably never heard of September 24, 2024 £32.5bn investment trust, 3i Group, owns Britain’s biggest retailer: Action. You’ve likely never heard of Action, and that’s because it doesn’t actually operate in the UK, instead having close to 3,000 stores across 12 European countries like Germany, the Netherlands and France. The group is kind of like B&M: Selling items at a low cost, [...]
Post-Brexit regulation caused ‘three lost years’ of infrastructure investing September 19, 2024 The outdated post-Brexit regulation around investment trust cost disclosure set the UK back by three years on infrastructure, asset manager Abrdn has revealed. Cost disclosure rules, which required investment trusts to ‘double dip’ their fee reporting, have finally been lifted by the government and the Financial Conduct Authority today, leaving the trust industry overjoyed. “What’s [...]
Investment trusts celebrate move to reform cost disclosure rules September 19, 2024 The UK has finally exempted investment trusts from complying with cost disclosure requirements that industry experts say could unlock billions in investment. In a statement today, the government and Financial Conduct Authority said regulators would temporarily withdraw the requirements, which campaigners have argued force trusts to ‘double count’ their fees. While this is also the [...]
Four investment trusts closed last week. How many more will go? September 16, 2024 Last week, four separate investment trusts handed in their notice, announcing they would be shuttering. Aquila European Renewables, Ecofin US Renewables, Gulf Investment Fund and Keystone Positive Change, all said they would be liquidating, as the number of trusts on the London Stock Exchange continued to dwindle. The number of investment trusts has fallen to [...]