Saba Capital has raised its stake in Pantheon International (PIN) to 11.1% from 10.5%. The activist hedge fund bought more shares and total return swaps in the £1.4bn private equity investment trust on a 28% discount last Wednesday. The increase comes around two months after PIN indicated in its annual results that it would make more disposals of fund investments to return more capital to shareholders.
UIL (UTL), the £250m flexible investment company run by the team behind Utilico Emerging Markets (UEM), made a 49.8% total investment return in the year to 30 June with shareholders receiving 83.8%. The impressive returns, which compared to 14.7% and 22.5% in the previous year, came as the market responded to moves to simplify the company ahead of it being taken private in 2028 through the sale of Somers and the transfer of its investments to UIL’s portfolio last year. Annual results showed that Zeta Resources and its gold mine development was the standout performer with gains of £33.6m which contributed £68m to the portfolio. Wealth manager W1M also made a strong contribution.
Matthew Read, senior analyst at QuotedData, said: “UIL has had an exceptional year, much of which is due to its gold exposure – particularly Horizon Gold – while the restructuring of Somers has left UIL simpler and more transparent. The discount has narrowed significantly too, helped by NAV performance and the announcement of plans to take UIL private at close to NAV after the 2028 ZDP redemption. This is a good outcome for shareholders but there are still reasons for caution. The portfolio remains highly concentrated, with W1M and Horizon Gold accounting for almost half of investments, and a sizeable proportion of assets remain in unlisted investments. However, UIL is now working towards providing most shareholders with an exit and buybacks and annual liquidity facilities should provide some support while this comes to fruition.”
BlackRock Latin American (BRLA) has made a disappointing start to the four-year assessment that will determine whether it holds a 100% tender offer in 2030. The £93m investment trust, which shrank with a 25% tender offer in May after underperforming in the previous four years, made a 5.3% investment return in the first half of the year in dollars with the shares up 6.7% with dividends included. Half-year results showed this trailed the 10.5% dollar return of the MSCI EM Latin America index. In sterling terms net asset value rose by 6.7% and the shares by 7.3%.
Matthew Read said: “BlackRock Latin American had an excellent 2025 in absolute terms and so, while disappointing, shareholders may be inclined to forgive a difficult six months. Stock selection in Brazil was largely responsible, although the managers argue that setbacks at holdings such as AGI and StoneCo are stock-specific rather than evidence of a wider deterioration in the portfolio. Following the completion of this year’s performance-related tender offer, shareholders also have the comfort of a 100% tender if BRLA fails to beat its benchmark over the four years to the end of 2029. While this should focus the managers’ minds, we have long argued that 100% tenders can leave a trust hostage to fortune if they fall due when, for whatever reason, its asset class is out of favour. On the plus side, Latin American equities still look inexpensive relative to other emerging and developed markets, so BRLA is at least starting this performance period from a relatively helpful point in the cycle.”
