by Dave Baxter, Investors Chronicle, October 8, 2024:
Several investment trusts face the prospect of contentious continuation votes in the coming months, putting further pressure on a sector already rife with consolidation.
With share price discounts to net asset value (NAV) remaining wide, busy merger and acquisition activity has seen several trusts disappear this year. Corporate actions to address discounts and underperformance have also increased, but more than 20 trusts are expected to face continuation votes between now and June 2025. While many of these should prove uncontroversial, analysts think some names are at risk of enforced wind-down or other reform measures..
Not all votes are expected to be so contentious. “Where boards are worried, they have jumped already,” said QuotedData head of investment company research James Carthew, referring to corporate actions such as mergers, buybacks and investment manager changes.
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