In the press

Friday Briefing: The time for talking is over, Saba vote will show how much the industry cares about retail investors 

Biotech trusts top performance charts in February

Eve Maddock-Jones, Investment Week, 17 January 2025:

Almost a month ago to the day, Saba Capital published its bombshell letter which has since sent the UK investment trust space into a spiral.

Back on 18 December, Saba went public with its plans to oust the boards of seven trusts, forcing a spotlight on the closed-ended space, for the good, the bad and the ugly.

The mud slinging between the trusts and Saba has been relentless and Investment Week has diligently separated the news from the noise since the whole saga began..

In all the shareholder meetings, Saba needs just 50% of votes cast to win and with a 23%-29% position across all seven mandates, it’s doing everything it can to better its odds to win.

Herald investment trust’s (HRI) vote is coming up first and I reported that the hedge fund has been rapidly buying up shares in the company to bolster its stake so that it has the best chance of voting through its own agenda.

Indeed, the buying rush ironically moved HRI up to a premium after spending years on a discount, and while some analysts lambasted Saba’s move here, that’s the game I’m afraid.

The Association of Investment Companies, QuotedData, Scottish Mortgage’s Tom Slater, all the trusts’ boards and a chorus of the industry have implored respective shareholders to show out and vote.

Investors in HRI have until end-of-day today (Friday 17 January) to submit their ballots online via AJ Bell, Hargreaves and interactive investor. If they miss this, then they’ll have to show up in person Wednesday (22 January) at midday at 10-11 Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6EE.

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