Natixis Investment Managers is preparing to enter Europe’s active ETF market under its own brand, becoming the latest large asset manager to move into a segment that is attracting growing interest from traditional active fund groups. As reported by ETF Stream, Natixis has been filing for upcoming own-brand ETFs in Europe, marking a further step […]

TwentyFour Select Monthly Income (SMIF) says last month’s commitment by Andy Burnham to follow the Labour government’s fiscal rules if he replaces Kier Starmer as prime minister has contributed to the credit fund’s cautious optimism after a half-year marked by turbulence from the Iran war. George Curtis, a portfolio manager at TwentyFour Asset Management, said […]

Pacific Assets (PAC), the £473m investment trust hit by the exit of its Stewart Investors management team last year, is to merge with Schroder Asian Total Return (ATR), offering shareholders a 25% cash exit at a 2% discount. The decision of Sydney-based First Sentier to close its Edinburgh subsidiary following the departure in August of David Gait, […]

Tritax Big Box REIT (BBOX) shares rose nearly 5% to 151p yesterday afternoon after the government approved its data centre development at Manor Farm near Heathrow. Planning consent had originally been expected in the second half of last year but the confirmation means the £4.1bn logistics fund should remain on track with its updated timeline […]

Update: TR Property (TRY) fund manager Marcus Phayre-Mudge has demanded that Unite (UTG) chief executive Joe Lister be held to account for its “disastrous” acquisition of Empiric Student Property. Phayre-Mudge, head of property investment at Columbia Threadneedle subsidiary Thames River Capital, accused Lister and Unite’s management team of “hubris” in pursuing the £723m cash and […]

Saba Capital has bought a 5% position in Grainger (GRI), the £1.1bn residential landlord that has been trading at around a 50% discount to net asset value. Shares in the company rose 4.2% to 159.7p after the activist hedge fund’s stake, mostly held in swap derivatives, was disclosed yesterday afternoon. Saba completed buying the position […]

WisdomTree has expanded its European thematic ETF range with the launch of a new fund targeting the global space economy. The WisdomTree Space Economy UCITS ETF (WSPC) is designed to give investors exposure to companies involved in the development and commercialisation of space-related technologies and services. The fund tracks the WisdomTree Space Economy UCITS Index […]

Lindsell Train (LTI) fund manager Nick Train has invested in US credit scorer FICO, doubling down on an artificial intelligence “winners” bet that has pushed the investment trust to its worst annual loss in 25 years.  Annual results show the now £114m investment trust saw the net asset value (NAV) of its holdings slump 21.3% […]

Update: Shares in ICEYE backers Seraphim Space (SSIT) and Molten Ventures (GROW) have jumped 15% and 12% respectively after the Finnish satellite constellation operator quadrupled its valuation to over €10bn ($12bn, £8.6bn) in a €1bn fund raising. ICEYE’s series F funding round, which is expected to close in the next quarter, underlined how fast the […]

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) beat the MSCI China index in the 12 months to 31 March, although the uncertainty exacerbated by the Iran war sharply reduced its returns from the first half of its financial year when the portfolio advanced 29.7% in a relief rally after the US watered down its initially aggressive tariffs. […]

The Financial Conduct Authority has launched legal action against Neil Woodford and the former fund manager’s subscription-based platform W4.0. The FCA alleges that Woodford and W4.0, the trading name of W Four Point Zero FZE LLC registered in the United Arab Emirates, are providing unauthorised regulated investment advice and financial promotions.    The City regulator believes this breaches sections 19 and 21 […]

US Solar Fund (USF) took a surprise lead last month, emerging as the investment companies sector’s top riser in May after revealing talks to sell its portfolio to an unidentified buyer. News of the potential sale at a “significant premium” saw shares in the £113m investment trust managed by Amber Infrastructure soar 33% (see table). […]

Baillie Gifford has launched its first active ETF range in the US, marking a notable inversion of the usual direction of travel in the active ETF market. While much of the recent activity in Europe has involved large US managers exporting active ETF strategies and infrastructure across the Atlantic, Baillie Gifford’s move goes the other […]

Seraphim Space (SSIT) will join the FTSE 250 on 19 June after a 39% share price rise this year and last month’s £127m C-share issue lifted the market value of the world’s first listed SpaceTech fund to £698m at Friday’s close. Chair Will Whitehorn said elevation to the “mid-cap” index was a “significant milestone” and […]

Discover how biotech company Enveda is using AI to unlock ingredients in plant life and develop a new generation of blockbuster drugs. Founder Viswa Colluru joins Scottish Mortgage manager Tom Slater to discuss the company’s ambitious vision and trillion-dollar opportunity. Capital at risk.

Baillie Gifford investment trusts have raised their valuation of SpaceX for a third time in six months with its flagship Scottish Mortgage (SMT) now holding a highly concentrated 21% position in the Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence (AI) group seeking a record $1.78tn (£1.3trn) flotation next week. Scottish Mortgage Trust and stablemates Schiehallion […]

Capital Gearing Trust (CGT), the £810m wealth preservation fund and investment company activist, is turning its attention to its largest equity holding, North Atlantic Smaller Companies (NAS), after a prolonged period of poor performance. CGT, whose lead manager Peter Spiller has been a long-term holder of NAS and supporter of its fund manager and chief […]

Real estate big hitters were among the best performers in May, regaining more of the losses sustained over the past few months of uncertainty. Best performers in price terms   (%) Unite Group 11.4 Ground Rents Income Fund 7.4 Land Securities 6.4 Hammerson 4.7 British Land 4.7 Macau Property Opportunities 4.7 Target Healthcare REIT 4.6 […]

JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income (JAGI) outperformed in the six months to 31 March with a 7.1% investment return beating the 5.2% advance in the MSCI Asia ex Japan index. Shareholders in the 4.6%-yielder did even better with a 12% return as the shares’ discount to net asset value narrowed from 8.7% to 4.8%. The […]

Active ETFs delivered a broadly positive month in May, with almost the entire universe in positive territory, according to QuotedData’s monthly performance screen. Of the 357 share classes analysed, 352 rose over the month, with only five recording negative returns. The strongest gains were concentrated in higher-beta thematic equity strategies, particularly those exposed to AI, […]

The new Saba-backed board of Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) has confirmed its intention to offer shareholders an exit through a tender offer once SpaceX has floated this month, but its statement to the stock exchange has failed to dispel concerns over its lack of independence from the activist hedge fund widely thought to want to replace […]

Private equity fund manager Hg has committed to increasing its stake in HgCapital Trust (HGT) from 6% to 15% in the “medium term” after the £1.8bn investment trust, which invests in its funds, tumbled to a 25% discount after this year’s AI scare for software stocks. In a statement before a capital markets event in […]

Zurich-listed Partners Group plunged 16% after reports that it had capped investor withdrawals from its flagship $8.6bn Global Value open-ended private equity fund. Shares in US private equity groups such as KKR and Blackstone also fell as the move stoked fears over private market valuations. Partners Group Private Equity (PEY), the £623m London-listed investment company […]

Templeton Emerging Markets (TEM) has congratulated fund managers Chetan Sehgal and Andrew Ness after the Franklin Templeton pair delivered a 41.3% total investment return for the year to 31 March. The “unusually strong” underlying performance saw the Asia-weighted portfolio recover from the shock of US President Trump’s tariffs in April last year to beat the […]

Biotech Growth (BIOG) fund managers Geoff Hsu and Josh Golomb were vindicated in their backing of smaller drug developers in the US and around the world today as the £245m investment trust reported a stunning 73.4% investment return for the year to 31 March. Chair Roger Yates said while the Orbimed duo’s conviction that mid […]

Shares in NextEnergy Solar (NESF), the £279m renewables fund that disappointed investors with a dividend cut in March, fell again today after the company revealed a 10.4% fall in net asset value (NAV) in the fourth quarter of its financial year. The worse-than-expected decline in the three months to 31 March saw NAV per share […]

Seraphim Space (SSIT) is deploying the £137m raised in last month’s C-share issue at one of the “most exciting times” for space technology as SpaceX’s imminent $1.75tn flotation sparks huge investor interest in the sector. Unveiling a 30.7% advance in the portfolio in the first quarter of 2026 (the third in its financial year), chair […]

Ecofin Global Utilities and Infrastructure (EGL) has shaken off turbulence from the Iran war with its shares trading in line with its investments for the first time in three years. Half-year results to 31 March show the £250m investment trust has eradicated the discount to net asset value (NAV) at which it has stood since […]

Morningstar has warned SpaceX is “significantly overvalued” and estimated its fair value at $780bn, less than half the $1.75tn-$1.8tn target in next month’s flotation. In their report, analysts Nicolas Owens and Suryansh Sharma cited regulatory and technical hurdles and also untested AI economics for their cautious assessment. Seeking to puncture some of the hype in […]