Maven Renovar VCT (MRV), the former Amati AIM venture capital trust, has said it will not fund raise in the current financial year following shareholders’ failure to approve a change in the investment policy for Maven Capital Partners which it controversially appointed in May. In a revolt at the VCT’s decision to sack smaller companies […]
Saba Capital’s holding in Herald (HRI) has strayed further above the 30% threshold it passed in July. The activist hedge fund now owns just over 31% of Katie Potts’ £1.2bn global technology trust resulting from its unsuccessful attempt to oust the board at the start of the year. The increase from just over 30% is […]
The average real estate share price was flat in September, a welcome respite after a couple of bruising months of losses, although persistent inflation and high gilt yields continue to cloud the outlook. There were some big winners and losers in the month. Best performing funds in price terms (%) PRS REIT 11.5 Alternative […]
Activist hedge fund Saba Capital has intensified pressure on Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) by taking a 5% stake in the international battery fund. Shares in the £293m investment company rose 1.7% to 59p on Wednesday afternoon, slightly narrowing their wide 44% discount to asset value, after Saba disclosed a holding of over 25.3m voting […]
Partners Group Private Equity (PEY) is to launch its first share buyback programme in over 11 years this month in response to its chronic 22% share price discount. Following the sales in July of PCI Pharma Services, its largest investment, and Techem, its seventh largest investment, the £740m investment company says distributions this year will […]
Infrastructure Capital, a New York boutique, has bypassed the buoyant market in London-listed debt funds to launch the first actively managed Dublin-based exchange traded fund (ETF) investing in US preferred shares. The Infrastructure Capital Preferred Income Ucits ETF has been listed by ETF provider HANetf on the London Stock Exchange under the PFFI ticker as […]
Henderson Smaller Companies (HSL), the £549m underperforming UK small-cap investment trust whose fund manager Neil Hermon retired last month after 23 years, has passed its triennial continuation vote. At the annual general meeting yesterday it gained the support of 95% of votes on turnout of 38.6%. Riverstone Energy (RSE) is to return £190m in a […]
Full-year results from PRS REIT (PRSR) underline the scale of the bargain pension asset manager Waypoint is getting with its £646.2m acquisition of the family home rental fund. In the year to 30 June, net asset value per share rose 7.4% to 143p from 133.2p, although the rate of growth slowed to 2.3% in the second […]
A weak dollar weighed on ICG Enterprise (ICGT) in the first half of its financial year but marketing efforts by the £949m private equity fund, combined with share buybacks and success in exiting investments during a sector downturn nonetheless produced a good result for shareholders. The investment trust, which invests in private equity funds run […]
LondonMetric Property (LMP) issues a half-year trading statement saying it expects to report a 14% increase in net rental income to £219m for the six months to 30 September following its acquisitions of Highcroft Investments and Urban Logistics this year. A further reduction in the EPRA cost ratio to 7.7% is also anticipated as the […]
Fidelity Emerging Markets (FEML) has notched up a third year of outperformance and its second year of positive returns with shares trading at an all-time high as the weak dollar drives investors back to its sector and the investment recovery reduces the impact of losses arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago. The […]
Half-year results from Baillie Gifford growth capital fund Schiehallion and Franklin Global; annual figures from Alternative Income REIT; shareholder approval for the merger of European Assets with European Smaller Companies Trust; plus updates from Sirius Real Estate, Marwyn Value Investors, Calculus VCT and Canadian General Investments. Schiehallion (MNTN), the £1.1bn Baillie Gifford growth capital fund […]
The £300m flotation of the Beauty Tech Group (TBTG) on Thursday not only cheered the London stock market after a dearth of listings, it has also boosted the three venture capital trusts (VCTs) run by Mercia Fund Management. From a 271p offer price, shares in TBTG rose 5% to 285p on Friday and have softened […]
The managed wind-down of Schroders Capital Global Innovation (INOV), the former Woodford Patient Capital Trust, has caught the attention of financier Hugh Osmond and the senior private equity team at Sun Capital Partners (SunCap). A stock market filing this week showed that Osmond, a veteran deal-maker who bought Pizza Express and helped consolidate the pub […]
In this slot four weeks ago, we wrote an introduction to active exchange traded funds (ETFs, which can be read here) and we are returning to the topic due to some interesting related news. The long-standing investment trust Middlefield Canadian Income (MCT) has announced its intention to convert to an actively managed ETF under the […]
The $15bn (£11bn) US flotation of Fermi (FRMI), a data centre real estate investment trust, has given the UK market a new REIT launch after three years in which the number of listed property funds has halved. Shares in the Texan company, which was co-founded by former US energy secretary and Texas governor Rick Perry […]
Baillie Gifford’s chief executive Tim Campbell explains the advantages of their active style of investing, the importance of long-termism and how AI fits into their process. Capital at risk.
The chair of Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA) has attacked Saba Capital after the activist hedge fund yesterday almost removed the board of the £751m investment trust eight months after it spectacularly failed to do so in a high profile extraordinary general meeting. Saba used its 29% stake in the trust to vote against the […]
Barings Emerging EMEA Opportunities (BEMO) has taken the controversial decision not to proceed with a conditional 25% tender offer that it committed to five years ago, saying to buy back up to a quarter of its shares would significantly reduce the size of the £94m fund, worsen liquidity in the stock and push up its […]
International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) is to expand its investments in unquoted companies under a partnership with Schroders Capital, the private markets arm of its fund manager Schroders. The £258m investment trust has committed to invest £10m, around 4% of its assets, in Schroders Capital funds focused on innovative, early-stage biotech companies. This is in addition […]
Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) is to speed up the replacement of its board of directors in response to the significant minority votes against their re-election at the recent extraordinary and annual general meetings of shareholders. Following the appointment last month of infrastructure investor Simon Merriweather, the board is close to announcing a new non-executive […]
Board of Pacific Assets Trust insists its fund managers must make up for underperformance of the past four years to avoid a 25% tender offer in 2028, plus annual results and updates from JPMorgan Global Growth & Income, Abrdn Diversified Income & Growth, Patria Private Equity, Seraphim Space and a name change at JPMorgan Indian. […]
Former Scottish Mortgage Trust (SMT) fund manager James Anderson has expressed concern about a bubble in artificial intelligence (AI) following Nvidia’s plan to invest $100bn in OpenAI. Anderson, who now runs a fund at Lingotto Investment Management, a firm backed by Italy’s billionaire Agnelli family, told the Financial Times that the surge in valuations in […]
TwentyFour Income Fund (TFIF) has become the second debt fund to launch a fund raise this week in response to strong investor demand for high-yielding asset-backed securities (ABS). The £883m investment company, whose shares yield 9.7% after consistently beating its dividend targets since launch in 2013, has announced a two-week share placing and open offer […]
Litigation Capital Management (LIT), an alternative asset manager that finances legal disputes, plunged today after the company was hit by the latest in a string of courtroom defeats that have pushed the Australian business deeply into the red. Shares in the AIM-listed company tumbled 16p, or 60%, to 10.6p after the High Court in London […]
Alliance Witan (ALW) has made two changes to its panel of external fund managers, dropping ARGA Investment Management after just 18 months and also letting go Sustainable Growth Advisors (SGA). ARGA, a Stamford, Connecticut global value fund manager was only added to the panel of stock pickers in April last year after the then Alliance […]
Jon Forster is stepping down as co-manager of Impax Environmental Markets (IEM). Forster will step back at the end of the year to become a senior industrials analyst at Impax Asset Management focused on environmental solutions companies. He will continue to contribute investment ideas for the portfolio. Jon is replaced by Sanjeev Lakhani, who joined […]
Annual report from Ruffer Investment Company, half-year update from 3i Infrastructure and results and news from Vietnam Holding, SDCL Energy Efficiency, North Atlantic Smaller Companies and Ashoka India Equity. Wealth preserver Ruffer Investment Company (RICA) failed to meet its benchmark in a year to 30 June that saw the departure in February of fund manager […]
Baronsmead venture capital trusts (VCTs) shored up Strategic Equity Capital (SEC) with a £10m investment two months before the Gresham House stablemate announced a 100% tender offer due to take place in October. Second quarter updates for the £200m Baronsmead Venture Trust (BVT) and £204m Baronsmead Second Venture Trust (BMD) revealed they each “invested £5m […]
Saba Capital and investors who followed the activist hedge fund in selling out of CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income (CYN) in its tender offer have missed out on a glittering 45% summer rally in the mining fund’s shares as gold and silver have shot up. The £194m investment trust, one of seven targeted by […]
