In the press

Saba Capital: Does the US hedge fund have a point on UK investment trusts?

By: Elliot Gulliver-Needham, Investment Reporter, CityAM, 21 January 2025:

US hedge fund Saba Capital triggered fury and an industry-wide defensive effort when it launched an activist campaign against seven UK investment trusts last month.

The Manhattan-based hedge fund, led by Boaz Weinstein, has laid siege to the trusts, accused them of failing to perform, and pushed for shareholder votes to “elect new directors with a concrete plan to deliver shareholder value”.

Control of the seven trusts now hangs in the balance as investors cast their votes on the proposals in a series of upcoming votes.

Saba’s campaign has sent shockwaves across the often staid and placid world of UK investment trusts. The UK investment industry has mounted a fierce resistance against the plans, with trade bodies like the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) and brokers rallying behind the trusts.

“Saba’s attack on the UK investment companies industry is entirely self-serving,” said James Carthew, head of investment companies at QuotedData.

“It aims to seize control of these funds to impose its own agenda, book a short-term profit on its investment and then – we suspect – extract management fees from a strategy that investors have shown no appetite for.”

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