Last year, private investor Geoff Mills scooped the £5,000 prize at the QuotedData Investors’ Choice Awards and like all wise investors added to his investment trust holdings. However, since we spoke to Geoff in November 2025 (click here to read), he’s grown notably more cautious over the course of the 2026, and instead of conventional equity investment trusts, he has been exploring more of the sector’s alternative trusts.
The problem, as he sees it, is the weight of debt, particularly in the US. “There’s this horrendous worldwide debt problem. The US alone has $40 trillion and rising. At some point that has to have a knock-on effect, and I’m convinced there’s going to be a correction in the stock market. I don’t know when it’s going to be. It could be this year, it could be next year, but it has to happen because the debt issue is just getting worse and worse.”
That has seen him reduce his US holdings, largely by selling down global trusts with significant weightings there. That’s left him with very little in the world’s largest economy. He’s also sold down his UK holdings “I’m nervous on the budget and don’t have a lot of confidence in the current government, so I’ve sold out of my holdings there.”
This has meant parting ways with some long-treasured holdings, including Aberforth and Temple Bar. He still believes the trusts are well-managed and has made good returns from both of them, but has decided to divert capital elsewhere. The only UK trust he couldn’t bear to part with was Law Debenture. He’s been a long-term holder and likes the unique structure whereby the income is taken care of by the independent professional services business.
His gloom on conventional trusts also applies to Europe. “I’m not confident about where it’s going. The UK economy isn’t great, but the French economy is an absolute disaster. I’m steering well clear of Europe. I have got a small amount of exposure in emerging markets, and that’s with the Utilico Emerging Markets Trust.” Utilico looks at critical infrastructure assets across emerging markets and is very different to many of its peers.
His caution on the current environment is reflected in where he has deployed the capital raised from these sales. Some of it has gone into cash. He wants to retain the option to buy back into favoured trusts if the price drops. The remainder has gone into commodities, infrastructure and property trusts.
Mills believes commodity prices are likely to rise, given geopolitical tensions across the globe and has been increasing his holdings there. “This includes trusts such as Baker Steel, which is still, in my view, fairly cheap and on a good discount, and is likely to start paying a dividend. Golden Prospect Precious Metals has just started paying a dividend and I’ve increased my holding in that. I’ve had a long-term holding in the now renamed City Natural Resources. I’ve also got some of the BlackRock Energy and Resources Income trust.” He believes commodities could be a safe haven if the stock market starts to wobble.
Infrastructure trusts have been another area of focus. “They’re fairly cheap. They pay a good, dependable dividend, and governments are going to need these infrastructure trusts over time to fulfil their plans. They may be a bit boring, but a 6-7% yield is good in the current environment.” Mills has been investing in 3i Infrastructure and International Public Partnerships. On the latter, he says: “In the most recent report, the chair said that if they if they make no investments at all for the foreseeable future, it could projectthe ability to pay dividends for the next 25 years.” It pays a quarterly dividend and is currently yielding over 6%.
Mills has held Cordiant Digital for a long time and increased his holdings with his winnings from last year. This trust invests in European digital assets, such as data centres and fibre optic networks. He’s also a holder in Sequoia Infrastructure: “I was pleased to see recently that Achilles, the activist investment trust run by Robert Naylor and Chrisman Mills, has recently invested there.”
He’s ambivalent about the influence of activists more generally. The presence of Saba, for example, on the shareholder register isn’t necessarily a deterrent. “Overall, they’ve probably been quite good for the industry because they focus the minds of investment trust boards, some of which have been a bit sleepy. Boards are now much more focused on what they need to do for shareholders. So I’m not totally anti-Saba. I do look to see what they’re up to because it’s possible to find out their buys and sells fairly easily.” Mills is a keen observer of other investors. He looks to funds such as the Miton Global Opportunities fund for ideas.
His other area of focus has been property. This has been very out of favour and Mills believes the discounts have gone too far. The Schroder Real Estate investment trust, for example, has dipped to a 34% discount. “This is crazy, plus, it’s paying an 8% yield.”
His process for selecting trusts remains the same. He looks to gather as much information as possible from a breadth of sources. He looks at various industry websites including QuotedData’s, as well as the RNS most days, via Investegate. He also regularly uses the AIC’s website and enjoys Jonathan Davis’s Money Makers podcast. He’s also a regular – and sometimes the only – attendee at AGMs. He loves investor days, which give him the opportunity to meet managers one on one and grill them about their process. The beauty of investment trusts is that even if an investor is a little nervous on the stock market, there are plenty of alternative options. Mills may be no fan of the AI trade, but he’s finding plenty to like for the year ahead among commodity, infrastructure and property trusts.
Now is the time to have your say. Which investment trusts, fund managers and ETFs deserve to win? You decide in the Investors’ Choice Awards 2026. Vote now.
