Overview
Aurora UK Alpha (known as Aurora Investment Trust until its merger with Artemis UK Alpha in December 2024) is managed with a concentrated portfolio of between 12 and 20 investments, all listed in London. The managers describe themselves as long-term value investors. They say that they look for businesses that make high and enduring returns on their capital. Their management teams must be trustworthy. And they also say that they must be patient, waiting for opportunities to buy shares at attractive prices.
The manager says its investment philosophy is inspired by Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger (of Berkshire Hathaway fame). It describes its investment approach here. There is no annual management fee but the manager can earn performance fees – a third of returns in excess of the All-Share Index.
You can access the fund’s website here
Fundamentals
Price
Research History
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09 Feb 2023 9 min read
QuotedData’s Investment Companies Roundup – February 2023
February 2023 Monthly roundup | Investment companies Winners and losers in January 2023 In a month where winners far outweighed losers, once again Chinese funds feature amongst the best-performing investment companies over the month, taking many of the top slots. China has barrelled ahead with the reopening of its economy following the lifting of COVID-related […]
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05 Jan 2023 9 min read
QuotedData’s Investment Companies Roundup – January 2023
December 2022 Monthly roundup | Investment companies Winners and losers in December 2022 The Financials sector only has two constituents, one of these – Trian Investors 1 – has seen its discount narrow since it promised to return cash to investors by next June, and it has also benefited from underlying NAV appreciation. Last month’s […]
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12 Nov 2020 7 min read
QuotedData’s Investment Companies Roundup – November 2020
Investment Companies Monthly Roundup Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford and Aberdeen Standard Investments Table of contents New research Performance data Discounts and premiums Money in and out Major news stories Events Guide Legal New research Here is a list of research we published over October: Herald Investment Trust – Hot chips “Reflecting its focus on technology, […]
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09 Oct 2020 7 min read
QuotedData’s Economic Roundup – October 2020
Economic & Political Roundup Kindly sponsored by Allianz A collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or sell […]
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7 min read
QuotedData’s Investment Companies Roundup – October 2020
Investment Companies Roundup Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford and Aberdeen Standard Investments Table of contents New research Performance data Discounts and premiums Money in and out Major news stories Events Guide Appendix – Performance by sector full list New research Here is a list of research we published over September: Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust – […]
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10 Sep 2020 6 min read
QuotedData’s Investment Companies Roundup – September 2020
Investment Companies Roundup Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford and Aberdeen Standard Investments Table of contents New research Performance data Discounts and premiums Money in and out Major news stories Events Guide Appendix – Performance by sector full list New research Here is a list of research we published over August: Aberdeen New Dawn – COVID positive “In […]
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08 Jun 2020 8 min read
QuotedData’s Economic Roundup – June 2020
Economic & Political Roundup Kindly sponsored by Allianz A collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or sell […]
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12 Nov 2019 5 min read
QuotedData’s investment companies roundup – November 2019
Investment Companies Roundup Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford New research Over October, we published notes on Pacific Horizon, Seneca Global Income & Growth, Premier Global Infrastructure, Polar Capital Global Financials, Ecofin Global Utilities and Infrastructure, Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Income and Herald. Additionally, as part of our enhanced coverage of the property sector, we launched […]
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07 Oct 2019 5 min read
QuotedData’s investment companies roundup – October 2019
Investment Companies Roundup Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford New research Over September, we published notes on India Capital Growth, Jupiter Emerging & Frontier, International Biotechnology Trust, JPMorgan Russian Securities, Civitas Social Housing, Montanaro European Smaller Companies and JLEN Environmental Assets. We also launched a monthly real estate roundup, beginning with reviews of August and September. In […]
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07 Jun 2019 3 min read
QuotedData’s investment companies roundup – June 2019
Investment Companies Roundup New research Over May, we published notes on Shires Income, Standard Life Private Equity and The North American Income Trust. You can read all these notes by clicking on the links above or by visiting www.quoteddata.com. In this issue Performance data – it was notable that risk appetite was down in May as renewed […]
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19 Dec 2018 1 min read
QuotedData’s investment companies roundup – December 2018
QuotedData’s investment companies roundup – December 2018 is our latest roundup of news; price, NAV and discount movements; flows in and out of the sector and report on full year dividends announced over the month of November 2018. Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford. Extract from ‘winners and losers’ The Californian wildfires took their toll on CatCo Reinsurance as it […]
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12 Oct 2018 1 min read
QuotedData’s Economic round up – October 2018
QuotedData’s Economic round up – October 2018 is a collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or […]
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11 May 2018 1 min read
QuotedData’s Economic round up – May 2018
QuotedData’s economic round up – May 2018 is a collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or […]
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18 Apr 2018 1 min read
QuotedData’s Economic round up – April 2018
QuotedData’s economic round up – April 2018 is a collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or sell […]
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10 Nov 2017 1 min read
QuotedData investment companies roundup – November 2017
QuotedData investment companies roundup – November 2017 – is our latest roundup of news; price, NAV and discount movements; flows in and out of the sector and report on full year dividends announced over the month of October 2017. Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford. November Investment Companies Roundup Globalworth Real Estate’s discount was eliminated after it announced […]
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12 Oct 2017 1 min read
QuotedData’s economic round up – October 2017
QuotedData’s economic round up – October 2017 – is a collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or […]
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31 Jan 2017 1 min read
QuotedData – 2016 review of the year
Our review of 2016 includes performance data, significant moves in discounts and premiums, money raised and money handed back, major news stories and links to the research we have published including our guide to investment companies. 2016 Annual roundup
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13 Oct 2016 1 min read
QuotedData investment companies roundup – October 2016
Our latest roundup of news; price, NAV and discount movements; flows in and out of the sector and report on full year dividends announced over the month of September 2016. october-investment-companies-roundup
News
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07 Jul 2025 1 min read
QuotedData’s morning briefing 7 July: PEY, ARR, CBA and ESO
In QuotedData’s morning roundup we have: Partners Group Private Equity reporting a monthly gain, Aurora UK Alpha appoints ex-Fidelity executive Alex Denny to the board and Ceiba, the highly discounted Cuban property investment company, recruits three non-execs to its board.
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08 Apr 2025 2 min read
Aurora UK Alpha faces continuation vote after disappointing year for returns
Aurora UK Alpha’s first set of annual results since the merger with Artemis Alpha has been published. The report covers the 12 months ended 31 December 2024. Over that period, the NAV total return was -4.3%, which the chair describes as disappointing. As the discount widened from 10.0% to 11.4%, the share price return was […]
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16 Jan 2025 2 min read
QuotedData’s morning briefing 16 January 2025 – HRI, ARR, SRE, RLE
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 16 January 2025: Herald (HRI) says that a second independent proxy adviser – Glass Lewis – has recommended that shareholders vote against Saba’s proposals. Investors who hold their shares through an investment platform provider or nominee are encouraged to contact their investment platform provider or nominee as soon as possible to […]
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27 Dec 2024 5 min read
QuotedData’s review of the year 2024
This is the last of our weekly emails for 2024. We hope that you have been finding them useful. 2024 has been a year of setbacks and shrinkage for the UK investment companies industry, topped by the cynical and self-serving attack on seven trusts by US corporate raider Saba Capital (there will be much more […]
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04 Dec 2024 3 min read
QuotedData’s morning briefing 4 December 2024 – ARR, SEIT, PNL, MNKS, INOV
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 4 December 2024: Aurora UK Alpha (ARR) announced that following the proposed combination with Artemis Alpha Trust, it has changed its name to Aurora UK Alpha plc. The company will continue to trade under the ticker ARR. SDCL Energy Efficiency Income (SEIT) announced its interim results for the six months to […]
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02 Dec 2024 4 min read
QuotedData’s morning briefing 2 December 2024 – SBSI, GSEO/ENRG, TRY, SBO, FP., BERI, DNE, IGET, ARR/ATS, INPP
Schroder BSC Social Impact (SBSI) has adopted the “Sustainability Impact” label and will continue to be considered an “impact fund” under the FCA’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and investment labelling regime. VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities has changed its name to VH Global Energy Infrastructure with effect from today, and its ticker will be changed to […]
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06 Sep 2024 1 min read
QuotedData’s weekly news show 6th September 2024
Thank you to everyone that listened in today on our YouTube channel. In this week’s show, James Carthew covered the week’s top stories: PRS REIT (0:41) SEGRO / Tritax EuroBox (4:02) Balanced Commercial Property Trust (6:41) Artemis Alpha / Aurora (8:10) JPMorgan Core Real Assets (10:33) Digital 9 Infrastructure (11:51) Andrew McHattie covered: Major rises over the […]
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02 Sep 2024 4 min read
Artemis Alpha and Aurora to merge
Artemis Alpha (ATS) and Aurora (ARR) have announced this morning that their boards have agreed heads of terms for a proposed combination of the two trusts. If approved by each company’s respective shareholders, the transaction will be effected by way of a scheme of reconstruction and winding up of Artemis Alpha with the associated transfer […]
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14 Jun 2024 3 min read
Aurora tweaks investment objective and performance fee methodology
Aurora Investment Trust (ARR) has announced changes to its investment objective and the methodology used to calculate its performance fee. The change in the investment policy stems from a desire by the board to clarify the wording to make it consistent with ARR’s investment policy and dividend policy. ARR’s existing investment objective refers to providing […]
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27 Mar 2024 1 min read
Strong rebound for The Aurora Investment Trust
The Aurora Investment Trust (ARR) announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2023. Performance for the year was very positive, with a NAV total return of 36.3%, well ahead of the benchmark UK index return of 7.9%. The share price return was 28.5%. The portfolio saw strong performance across the board with […]
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18 Jan 2024 1 min read
QuotedData’s morning briefing 18 January 2024 – ORIT, ARR, NRR
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 18 January 2024: Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) is targeting a total dividend of 6.02p for the current calendar year, up 4% from 2023’s 5.79p. The increase matches UK inflation as measured by CPI, making it three years in a row that it has increased dividends by UK inflation [although the […]
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21 Apr 2023 6 min read
Aurora reports on a difficult year
Aurora Investment Trust (ARR) has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022. During what was a difficult year in global markets, ARR provided an NAV total return of -17.4% (2021: +17.1%) and the share price total return was -16.3% (2021: +13.5%). ARR says that, in comparison, its benchmark All-Share Index provided […]
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10 Jan 2023 2 min read
QuotedData’s morning briefing 10 January 2023
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 10 January 2023: Ben Durrant has been made deputy portfolio manager of Pacific Horizon (PHI). Ben is an investment manager in Baillie Gifford’s Emerging Markets Equity Team. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2017 having previously worked for RBS in its Group Strategy and Corporate Finance Team. Prior to re-joining the Emerging […]
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03 May 2022 2 min read
Inflation hedge works to Aurora’s benefit
Aurora beat its benchmark over 2021 but its share price lagged a little. An NAV total return of 19.1% was ahead of the 18.3% return on the UK market but the share price return was 13.5% as the discount widened. The trust benefited from the IPO of Castlenau in September 2021. The board proposes to […]
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04 Jun 2021 1 min read
QuotedData’s weekly news show 4 June 2021
QuotedData’s weekly news show 4 June 2021 Thank you to everyone that listened in today, whether you watched the Zoom live, on Facebook or on Youtube. In this week’s show, James Carthew covered the week’s top stories: Scottish Investment Trust update Performance fees this week – Lindsell Train, Worldwide Healthcare, Aurora Brevan Howard funds merger […]
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03 Jun 2021 2 min read
Aurora beats UK market in turbulent year
Aurora Investment Trust has published results for the year ended 31 December 2020. The NAV total return for the year was -5.3%, 4.5% better than the -9.8% delivered by the All-Share Index. This earned Phoenix (the manager) a performance fee (this is the only way it gets paid – there is no baseline management fee). It received […]
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14 May 2020 3 min read
Aurora manager’s payday creeps closer
Aurora manager’s payday creeps closer – Aurora had a great 2019, beating the All-Share by 10.8% with a return on NAV of 29.9%. This included a dividend of 4.5p (up from 4p for 2018). The good performance encouraged the shares to trade at a premium and allowed the trust to expand in 2019, issuing £22.5m worth of […]
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02 Dec 2019 1 min read
QuotedData’s other news 2 December 2019
In QuotedData’s other news 2 December 2019 – JPMorgan Claverhouse (JCH) has announced that following a review, its management fee arrangements with JPMorgan Funds Limited will change. With effect from 1st January, 2020 the annual management fee, currently 0.60% p/a on net assets up to £500m and 0.50% on net assets over £50m , will be […]
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24 Apr 2019 1 min read
QuotedData’s other news – 24 April 2019
QuotedData’s other news – 24 April 2019 The board of JPMorgan Russian Securities (JRS) announced this morning that Gill Nott has joined the board of directors as chairman of the US Solar Fund (USF), which commenced trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on 16th April 2019 Elsewhere, Henderson International Income (HINT) […]
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21 Apr 2017 6 min read
Aurora’s manager gets behind Mike Ashley
Aurora has announced its results for the 10-month period from 29 February 2016 to 31 December 2016. Its chairman, Lord Flight (pictured), explains that reason for the ‘short year’ is to align Aurora’s accounting period with that of its Investment Manager, Phoenix Asset Management Partners, who have been in place for approximately 15 months, following […]
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07 Feb 2017 1 min read
All trust sectors bar one made money in ’16
UK Smaller Companies was the only investment sector to lose money in 2016 despite a turbulent political and economic landscape, new research has revealed. See more here
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19 Aug 2016 1 min read
Aurora hit hard by Brexit vote
Aurora has published its first set of interims since changing its investment approach and its year end. Because the Company’s year end has been brought forward to December 31st , this report covers the four month period from March 1st to June 30th. Since the year-end on February 29th , the NAV per share declined […]
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16 Jun 2016 6 min read
Aurora publishes first annual report since new manager
Aurora Investment Trust has published its first annual report since the management of the company was passed to Phoenix Asset Management. The report covers the year ended 29 February 2016 – Phoenix took up the reins on 28 January 2016 so most of the performance of the fund over this period is attributable to the […]
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25 Jan 2016 1 min read
Aurora – new management agreement agreed, no tender as shares are trading at a premium
Aurora Investment Trust has provided and update regarding change of manager, tender offer and appointment of Corporate Broker. The Company confirms that it has now agreed the provisions of the new investment management agreement appointing Phoenix Asset Management Partners Limited as the Company’s investment manager in accordance with the terms previously announced. The appointment is […]
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08 Jan 2016 2 min read
Miton Global Opportunities underperforms in first half
Miton Global Opportunities, formerly Miton Worldwide Growth Investment Trust PLC, has announced its interim results for the six-months ended 31 October 2015. During the period, the company’s NAV total return was -4.4% and its share price total return was -2.8%. These compare against a return of -3.6% on the MSCI world and a 1.3% return […]
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30 Oct 2015 1 min read
Aurora planning tender at 2% discount
Aurora Investment Trust has published a half year report covering the six months ended 31 August 2015. The FTSE ALL-Share index declined by 8.3%, whereas the FTSE100 Index, on account of its high exposure to oils and commodities, fell by 10.0%. In comparison the Net Asset Value of the portfolio reduced by 5.7%. Management of […]
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24 Sep 2015 2 min read
Aurora’s management to pass to Phoenix
Aurora Investment Trust’s Board has agreed in principle to proposals that it believes will achieve the Board’s objective of offering an attractive continuing vehicle and a cash exit for shareholders. The Company’s existing manager is to be acquired by Phoenix Asset Management Partners Limited. It is then intended that the Company’s investment policy and strategy will reflect the […]
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10 Jun 2015 1 min read
Ten parties circling around Aurora
Over the year to the end of February 2015, Aurora Investment Trust’s return on net assets was -10.6% which compares to a positive return of 2.1% for its benchmark. The dividend is being increased from 3.8p to 3.85p. The statement says that part of their problem is exposure to oil related stocks and part is exposure […]
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28 Oct 2014 1 min read
Aurora hit by range of stock specific problems
ARR : Aurora hit by range of stock specific problems Aurora Investment Trust underperformed during the six months that ended on 31 August – the net asset value return was -2.5% vs. a 0.7% fall in the FTSE All-Share Index. The discount narrowed a little however (from 13.4% to 12.2%) and so the return to […]
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21 Jul 2014 1 min read
Aurora Investment Trust : AUR – retirement of manager
Aurora Investment Trust has announced that James Barstow, manager of the fund, is considering retiring within three years. The fund, which just passed its continuation vote, will now be managed with this in mind. The Board say that from July next year the only new investments that will be permitted are FTSE100 stocks. They are […]
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In The Press
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09 Sep 2024 1 min read
Investment trust insider on AVI Global Trust
Investment trust insider on AVI Global Trust – James Carthew: AVI Global can extend its excellent track record Discounts across global markets present opportunities for the UK-based bargain hunter, which recently cashed in on Starwood’s Balanced Commercial Property bid. The investment companies sector continues to shrink. So far in September, we have seen bids for Tritax […]
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15 Jul 2024 1 min read
Investment trust insider on small caps
Investment trust insider on small caps – James Carthew: The world can’t be mean to small-caps forever The dominance of mega-cap tech stocks has exacerbated the underperformance of smaller company funds, but history suggests this should change. Mean reversion, the tendency for asset prices to return to their long-term average, is a wonderful thing. However, […]
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1 min read
Trusts set to prosper under Labour
By Emma Wallis, News editor, Trustnet, 12 July 2024: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has barely been in office a week but has already announced planning reforms to “get Britain building again”.. Labour promised in its manifesto to build 1.5 million new homes during the next five years and is establishing a housing task force to tackle […]
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04 Jan 2024 1 min read
How do last year’s investment trust mergers stack up?
by Dave Baxter, Investors’ Chronicle, January 3, 2024: Even the last working day before Christmas was far from short of investment trust news. The board of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure (ORIT) announced an intention to merge with its peer Aquila European Renewables (AERI) on the morning of 22 December… The plan has received a lukewarm response […]
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13 Mar 2023 1 min read
Should you be concerned about your investment trust’s debt as interest rates rise? Why gearing can be a blessing and a curse for investors
By MIKE SHEEN FOR THIS IS MONEY, 10 March 2023: The rising cost of borrowing could leave some buyers of investment trusts nursing heavy losses and a sharp fall in income. Investment trusts’ use of borrowing – known as gearing – is designed to supercharge returns and income when a vehicle’s strategy pays off, but […]
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22 Nov 2021 1 min read
The UK trusts on the biggest discount or premiums relative to their history
By Eve Maddock-Jones, Reporter, Trustnet, 19 November 2021 Trustnet looks at which UK investment trusts are trading below their five year average discount/premium level and which ones are running well ahead of the norm. Several UK investment trusts are running well below their five-year-average discount presenting major buying opportunities, according to fund pickers. The pandemic […]
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27 Nov 2018 1 min read
Investment trust insider on Gresham Strategic and Aurora
Investment trust insider on Gresham Strategic and Aurora – James Carthew: private-equity, small-cap pickers good value Could value-style approaches do well in the current market environment? The universe of UK smaller company investment trusts using private equity techniques to evaluate listed companies once consisted solely of Strategic Equity Capital (SEC). It has proliferated however, and now […]
