Alex Sebastian, Portfolio Adviser, 24 JULY 2023:
Abrdn has proposed folding the New Dawn investment trust into Asia Dragon.
If the move is approved it would create a £700m Asian equities focused entity.
The pair have a similar remit and a significant commonality of equities holdings. A merger could create efficiencies within the running of the trust and improve liquidity, according to Abrdn.
The proposal is to liquidate New Dawn, transfer the assets to Asia Dragon and continue under that name.
The ongoing charge for investors would drop to 0.75% from the current 0.85%…
James Carthew, head of investment company research QuotedData, commented: “This has been a long time coming – in fact I have been arguing that the two funds should be merged since 2003 when Aberdeen took over Edinburgh Fund Managers, bringing Edinburgh Dragon, now Asia Dragon, into the Aberdeen stable.
“The combination is good news therefore but there is still work to do. Lower fees and greater liquidity are welcome. However, ahead of this Asia Dragon was trading at a wider discount than abrdn New Dawn, 16.5% to 15.9%.
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