Murray Income (MUT), the £855m UK equity income trust, says Artemis, its new fund manager, has largely completed the overhaul of the portfolio it took over from Aberdeen on 2 March. At 31 March, 98.7% of the three quarters of the holdings Artemis wanted to change had been completed. The top position is now Tesco (5.1%), […]
March was a tough month for investors as the UK stock market dropped 7% and globally share prices retreated 5% with equities in Japan, Asia and emerging markets sliding 10-12% at the shock of oil prices soaring 63% to more than $118 a barrel in response to the US and Israel’s war on Iran. A […]
Update: Baillie Gifford has hiked its valuation of SpaceX for the second time in four months amid reports that the Elon Musk rocket and satellite group has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US that could value it at up to $1.75trn (£1.3trn), up from the $800bn it doubled at the end […]
Baillie Gifford Japan (BGFD) severely underperformed in its half-year results to 28 February with a 4.4% underlying total investment return compared to the 22.4% advance in the TOPIX index. Shareholders saw a 6.1% total return as the shares narrowed the gap, or discount, to net asset value (NAV) from 11.4% to 10.1%. Sam Davis, the […]
Biotech Growth (BIOG) and RTW Biotech Opportunities (RTW) have both benefited from Biogen’s announcement of a $5.6bn cash acquisition of Apellis Pharmaceuticals at $41 per share yesterday, which represented a 140% premium to Monday’s closing price. They held 1.7% and 1.1% respectively in the rare kidney and retinal diseases specialist. RTW also saw Eli Lilly […]
Update: Saba Capital has told Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) shareholders for the first time that it wants to replace Baillie Gifford as fund manager in a letter to shareholders outlining the exit opportunities it would support if it wins control of the £736m global equities trust at next month’s annual general meeting. Saba said: “In the […]
Pantheon Infrastructure (PINT) has passed an important milestone with the maturing portfolio supporting a covered dividend for the first time since launch in 2021. In annual results the £494m investment trust said net cash flows, not including £31.4m of investment sales, jumped 77% to £22.5m last year from £12.8m to cover the 4%-yielder’s dividends by […]
Schroders Capital Global Innovation (INOV), the former Woodford Patient Capital Trust, plans a second return of capital in its managed wind-down, saying it will hold an £18m tender offer in June. This follows the sale of London-based Bluewater Bio in January and a £37m return of capital last July. Annual results show the now £89m […]
Saba Capital has doubled its stake to 10% in Pantheon International (PIN), the £1.6bn private equity fund on a 31% discount where activists AVI and Metage also hold positions. Sirius Real Estate (SRE) has bolstered its defence exposure with the €93.4m acquisition of a business park in Kiel, Germany, predominantly let to Rheinmetall, the country’s […]
Stefan Gries, head of European equities at BlackRock, has left the group and ended his fund management career to “focus on personal health issues”, according to BlackRock Greater Europe (BRGE). Gries had managed the £475m investment trust since June 2017 but had seen its performance wane after the 2022 growth crash. He is replaced by […]
