Hansa Investment Company (HANA) has reported on one of its best years with a 29.4% return in the 12 months to 31 March boosted by its merger with Ocean Wilsons Holdings in December. The company had to overcome opposition from Ocean Wilsons investor Arnold to complete the deal after the US value investor complained the […]

Fidelity International plans to expand its active ETF range in Europe with the launch of eight options-based funds. The first four exchange-traded funds filed with the Central Bank of Ireland are “buffer” strategies, offering protection against market falls in global, US and Europe equities. They are: The second group filed with the Irish regulator are […]

Saba Capital has lifted its stake in Workspace Group (WKP) to over 28% as the activist hedge fund positions itself for an attempt to seize control of the flexible office provider at its annual general meeting in two weeks’ time. The 1% increase in its holding to 28.2% disclosed yesterday puts Saba just behind property […]

Oryx International Growth (OIG), the £174m UK smaller companies trust managed by activist chief executive Chris Mills, essentially flatlined in the year to 31 March after a turbulent second half hit by the US-led war on Iran and the sell-off of software stocks wiped out an “exceptional” 15.7% gain in the first half of the […]

Scottish Mortgage (SMT) has reassured shareholders it will not move annual general meetings online unless in exceptional circumstances after a 24.1% vote against a change empowering the board to hold virtual AGMs. Although over 260m shares followed SMT’s recommendation in voting for resolution 17 at the AGM on Thursday, nearly 82.5m were opposed to the […]

Glenstone, the largest shareholder in Alternative Income REIT (AIRE), has raised its bid for the company to 71.4p per share in cash. The 1.4p, or 2%, increase from the 70p per share, or £56.3m, offer Glenstone made on 12 June is the equivalent of the fourth quarter dividend AIRE shareholders could expect to receive next […]

Switzerland’s Pictet Asset Management has launched four active ETFs whose stock selection will be entirely driven by artificial intelligence (AI). The “enhanced equity” funds will use a proprietary AI model to interpret a vast amount of data points rather than plugging artificial intelligence into an existing quantitative analysis system. The suite of AI enhanced UCITS […]

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has put in place further measures to reform unfair cost disclosure as it affects investment companies. In a move that should end the “double counting” of the expenses of investing in UK investment companies, the FCA said the ongoing costs of closed-end investment funds (CEIF) that are deducted from their […]

Biotechnology trusts BIOG and IBT replaced technology trusts as last month’s big risers with profit taking hitting Seraphim Space (SSIT) in June, but 3i Group (III) recovering after its tumble in May. June’s top risers Investment company Total shareholder return % Premium (- discount) % Biotech Growth (BIOG) 20.58 -8.59 Bluefield Solar (BSIF) 16.5 -13.96 […]

Real estate share price risers and fallers in June were heavily influenced by M&A announcements, which continue to dominate the listed property landscape following four years that has seen the sector halve in number. Overall, the sector was up 1.5% on average in June and was up 4.5% in the quarter. The war in Iran […]

Gopuff started in a dorm room. Today it delivers groceries and everyday essentials to millions of people – often in as little as 15 minutes, at supermarket prices. In the next podcast episode of Invest in Progress, co-founder Yakir Gola tells Scottish Mortgage manager Tom Slater how a simple idea became a service people rely […]

Saba Capital has raised its stake in Grainger (GRI), the residential landlord whose shares have jumped over 15% since the activist hedge fund emerged with a 5% position a month ago. Yesterday Saba disclosed that it had bought more total return swaps on Monday 29 June to lift its holding to 6.3%. In May Mike […]

CT Private Equity (CTPE), a £356m Columbia Threadneedle managed trust, has sold a portfolio of mature fund investments for £24.7m, 16.1% below their valuation at the end of last year. The disposal to institutional investors of 4.9% of the investment trust’s portfolio has reduced net asset value (NAV) at 31 March by 1.3%. The NAV […]

HICL Infrastructure (HICL) has lifted its medium-term annual return target to 10% and above with plans to add higher-returning “enhancer” investments to its portfolio.  Ahead of a meeting at the London Stock Exchange this afternoon to brief investors on its capital allocation framework, the £2.5bn core infrastructure fund said the new investments would build up […]

Defiance, a US ETF issuer that specialises in thematic, income and leveraged products, has launched the Defiance Memory UCITS ETF (DRAM) in Europe, giving investors targeted exposure to companies involved in memory semiconductors and data storage systems. The fund, launched through HANetf’s white label platform, aims to capture part of the AI infrastructure supply chain […]

European Opportunities Trust (EOT) and JPMorgan European Growth & Income (JEGI) have published circulars for the proposed liquidation of EOT and the option for shareholders to roll their investments into JEGI. As announced on 29 May, shareholders can also choose a cash exit or a new Liontrust fund being launched for EOT fund manager Alexander […]

Bending Spoons, the Italian app acquisition and restructuring company backed by Baillie Gifford European Growth (BGEU) and stablemate Schiehallion (MNTN), saw its shares surge 39.7% in their Nasdaq debut yesterday. From a listing price of $29 (£21.80), that was just above the initial range, BSP shares enjoyed strong investor demand on their first day of […]

Monks (MNKS), the less aggressive sister fund to Baillie Gifford’s Scottish Mortgage Trust (SMT), technically underperformed in the year to 30 April but prodigious share buybacks by its board ensured shareholders beat a “storming” 31% advance in the FTSE World index. The £2.5bn global investment trust delivered a 29.3% underlying return, 0.7% behind the benchmark, […]

Artificial intelligence-related ETFs rebounded on Monday (29 June) after a sharp sell-off at the end of last week, highlighting both the continued strength of investor interest in the theme and the volatility that can come with more concentrated exposures. According to MarketWatch, the iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF rose 2.9%, recovering part of […]

Shares in Gresham House Energy Storage (GRID) spiked at the close of trading yesterday after PrimeStone Capital, a UK activist investor claiming to hold a 7% stake, urged the battery fund to put itself up for sale. In an open letter to the chair and board of the £506m investment trust, PrimeStone said a formal […]

Home REIT (HOME), the former homeless accommodation provider looking to liquidate more than three years after being engulfed in a valuation scandal, has expressed “frustration” at the legal costs it is incurring. The company said most of its £3m non-property operating expenses in the second quarter related to defending itself against threatened litigation from shareholders […]

HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) has generated another $70.7m (£53.4m) for its planned $400m tender offer from the sale of mostly direct co-investments in companies. All the proceeds will go into the distribution pool which was boosted by the sale of $300m (£224m) of fund investments in December. Chair Ed Warner said the transaction was […]

The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) comfortably passed its first continuation vote yesterday with 99.3% support from the around 70% of votes voted at the annual general meeting. The ordinary resolution, number 15, on continuation was backed by over 1.5bn shares with 108.3m against and 15.5m withheld. TRIG’s announcement in May of a £400m 12-month disposal […]

Dragon Capital, the Vietnam boutique with around $5bn assets under management, has filed plans for the launch of its first European ETF. Best known for running Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL), a £1bn London-listed closed-end fund, Dragon is seeking regulatory approval for the launch of the Dragon Capital Vietnam UCITS ETF in Dublin. According to […]

The fund managers of Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets (AWEM) are to get their first payment since the £78m investment trust launched three years ago. Annual results show the team at White Oak Capital Management in Mumbai, led by founder Prashant Khemka, have generated a £1.17m performance fee for their impressive index-beating returns since launch in […]

Chrysalis (CHRY), the £367m growth capital fund embarked on a three-year wind-down, has had to knock £16.1m off its valuation after the audit of its half-year results revealed an error in the assessment of wefox, the online insurer.  An incorrect calculation of the “waterfall”, or allocation of value to the different investors in wefox, reduced […]

GCP Infrastructure (GCP) has converted a solar equity investment into £40m of senior debt in line with its 31 March valuation. The proceeds will combine with £13m of disposals of an anaerobic digestion project and two onshore wind projects that the £634m investment company is working on, which will be used for share buybacks and debt reduction. […]

AEW UK REIT (AEWU), the most highly rated of the dwindling pool of London-listed property funds, continues to “monitor” the situation at Alternative Income REIT (AIRE) where talks on an acquisition broke down in April.  “It is of regret to the AEW UK REIT board that this opportunity did not proceed to an agreed position,” […]

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF), the lowest rated of three London-listed Vietnam funds, has reduced its annual management charge by 23% and improved the terms of the performance fee arrangement with fund manager VinaCapital. From 1 July, the management fee that VOF pays VinaCapital Investment Management for running the $930m portfolio will reduce from 1.3% […]