James Carthew: UK income trusts standing out from the crowd
What makes an investment trust stand out from the crowd? It is a question that preoccupies many boards and it is relevant in a time when many investors are being warned off me-too funds, quasi-index trackers and even active investing.
Two high-profile funds in the UK equity income sector, Perpetual Income & Growth (PLI) and Edinburgh (EDIN), were amongst the worst performing of all funds last month thanks to their exposure to Provident Financial (PFG). Their falls in net asset value were not large (sub 2%) but made headlines nevertheless because Mark Barnett, their fund manager, is a star in the sector. Not only does he have the Invesco Perpetual marketing machine behind him, he is also well-known because he takes punchy bets in his portfolios.
The best performing fund in the sector over the past year with net asset value up 28.5% is…. read more here