Investment Trust Insider on Ranger Direct Lending
James Carthew: Ranger board must give investors an exit
A right royal row is underway about the future of Ranger Direct Lending (RDL). Letters are flying back and forth and PR companies are working overtime but Ranger’s shares continue to languish on the widest discount of any fund in the debt sector, possibly as us ordinary shareholders fret about the bills that a being racked up in defence of the board’s plans, on top of the hefty legal bills and, soon, a double set of management fees.
Ranger is just three years old. Its third birthday was an important milestone as the board is now free to fire the manager and has duly done so. The manager was on twelve months’ notice however and has shown no signs of waiving its entitlement to its remaining fee in any fit of remorse.
In March 2017, before the extent of the Princeton problem became apparent, Ranger’s shares were trading north of £11. Since then, a substantial discount has opened up and the shares, while off their sub-£7 lows at the end of 2017, still languish on a discount of… read more here