Investment trust insider on Henderson/Fidelity European merger – James Carthew: Future looks bright for Europe trusts in mega-merger
Henderson European’s planned merger with Fidelity European Values is set to create a £2bn powerhouse and looks like a good outcome for shareholders.
The big news last week was that Fidelity European Values (FEV) will be absorbing Henderson European (HET). The deal came about because of the surprise departure of HET’s managers Jamie Ross and Tom O’Hara from Janus Henderson earlier this year.
HET was itself a product of the merger of two trusts prompted by the departure of a fund manager. Henderson European Focus (HEFT) manager John Bennett had announced in September 2023 that he would retire the following August, handing over the reins to O’Hara. Bennett had been lead manager of HEFT for 13 years and was well liked by shareholders.
There was pressure generally for trusts to merge and questions had been asked for a while about why Janus Henderson had two European trusts. Henderson EuroTrust (HNE) under Jamie Ross was doing reasonably well. It made sense to knock them together.
The merger only completed in July 2024. To get it across the line, Janus Henderson had chipped in £1.55m to cover a portion of the costs and agreed to a reduced management fee. It has made its money back since, but it will be a real blow to the firm to see HET disappear. The situation is reminiscent of Aberdeen merging Aberdeen New Dawn and Asia Dragon, only to see the combined trust merge with Invesco Asia – becoming Invesco Asia Dragon (IAD) – shortly thereafter.
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