Latest news with #investmenttrusts
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
2 top FTSE 250 investment trusts to consider for a SIPP
There are dozens of investment trusts across the FTSE 250, offering exposure to all sorts of sectors and geographies. Here are two that I think are worth considering for a SIPP. In this account, they would have time to compound and — ideally — generate solid long-term returns. First up is Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (LSE: USA), which pretty much does what it says on the tin. However, what separates this from similar trusts is the ability to invest up to 50% of assets in private growth companies. Today, unlisted firms make up 37% of the portfolio. Admittedly, this adds extra risk because these can be harder to value. Also, by definition, they tend to be less mature enterprises, meaning there's greater risk of some going bust. However, the trust only needs to back a small handful of generational private companies to do well long term. One is SpaceX, the rocket and satellite internet pioneer that is today the largest holding. It's up tenfold in value since 2018! Beyond this, the trust is invested in loads of top-tier public companies that I expect to be larger in future. These range from internet payments firm Stripe to streaming juggernaut Netflix and language learning leader Duolingo. Other tech names include Amazon and Meta. Just as the US led the way during the rise of the internet, it is doing so again with generative AI. We think this new technology is consequential and will usher in a period of change on a scale that we haven't seen since the industrial revolution. The trust's shares are currently trading at an 8% discount to net asset value, which I think looks attractive. It continues to buy back shares in an attempt to control the discount. The second trust is another from Baillie Gifford, namely Pacific Horizon Investment Trust (LSE: PHI). The managers aim to invest in the top 20% of the fastest-growing companies in Asia. Now, words like 'Pacific' and 'Asia' might immediately ring alarm bells because of all the uncertainty around global trade. The trust has 31% invested in China, the world's second-largest economy, and another 9% in Vietnam. Both could be hit hard by US tariffs, assuming they stay punishingly high. That said, now is arguably a great time to consider investing for the long run. Asian companies and economies are still likely to become much more influential in future, despite President Trump's best efforts. Just look at China's BYD (not a holding), which is overtaking Tesla in selling EVs. Or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's leading maker of advanced chips. It is Pacific Horizon's largest holding. I doubt such firms' upwards trajectory will be permanently impaired by US tariffs. Combining Asia's favourable macroeconomic position with its structurally faster growth rates and valuations at multi-year lows relative to developed markets, Asia ex Japan appears to be in a sweet spot. Pacific Horizon also offers exposure to India (16.8%) and Korea (10.6%), as well as strategically important firms like Zijin Mining (one of China's largest producers of gold and copper). Again, the shares trade at a discount to NAV (9.2%). I think they're worth a look for a SIPP. The post 2 top FTSE 250 investment trusts to consider for a SIPP appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Ben McPoland has positions in Duolingo and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Amazon, Duolingo, Meta Platforms, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Boaz Weinstein Ready to Plow Billions More Into UK Trust Fight
Weeks after scoring a string of wins in his high-profile campaign for better returns from UK investment trusts, here is activist hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein's latest message for the industry: I'm not going anywhere. 'I'm here and I'm ready to buy billions more of whatever is for sale and not effective,' Weinstein said in an interview. The comments come after he struck agreements with London-listed funds run by Janus Henderson Group Plc and Manulife Investment Management — two of the trusts he had campaigned against.
Bloomberg
03-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Hedge Fund Raider Turns London Defeat to Victory
US hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein was rebuffed when he tried storming the boardrooms of seven UK investment firms earlier this year. But the activist has since shown he didn't need to win to achieve his goals and to make money. To recap, Weinstein sees an opportunity in publicly traded companies that invest their capital in stocks and sometimes private firms. Shareholders of these so-called investment trusts get something similar to a mutual fund with the added benefit of daily liquidity and access to equity investments they might be unable to make directly. These trusts typically trade at a discount to their underlying portfolio value. Blame corporate bloat – the costs of a board, advisers, financial reporting and so on – and often mediocre to poor investment performance.
Daily Mail
31-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
JEFF PRESTRIDGE: There ARE simple ways for trusts to boost their shares
Investments trusts are a super way for investors to get long-term exposure to stock markets – and make some money along the way. They're easy to buy and sell, and most provide value for money. Yet they are not without flaws, as predators such as American hedge fund manager Saba Capital have sought to exploit. The biggest one is that as funds listed on the London Stock Exchange, their share prices do not always reflect their underlying asset value. In most cases, they undervalue them. In investment speak, they trade at a discount. When this happens, shareholders see the worth of their investments eroded. It's frustrating. The average discount industrywide is currently about 15 per cent. Trust shares trade at discounts for many reasons: out of vogue investment mandates; an unappealing stock market (as London has been for quite a while); and an unfriendly economic and financial backdrop. Yet underpinning all these reasons is a mismatch between buyers and sellers. More investors want out than in. Saba has sought to make money from this by buying stakes in undervalued investment trusts and then agitating for change. So far it hasn't managed to take any trusts under its wing, but it has helped close discounts on some trusts, making money in the process. A few days ago I spoke to Richard Curling, chairman of trust Montanaro European Smaller Companies (MESC), about discounts. The £277 million trust has Saba among its shareholders. Curling says investment trusts must do more to reduce the 'volatility' in share price discounts. At MESC, he has implemented a three-prong strategy designed to drive down the trust's discount. It has involved buying back shares (in effect reducing their supply to make them scarcer); allowing investors twice a year to exit the trust at close to asset value; and reducing the annual charge from 0.9 to 0.825 per cent. Although early days, it's working. The trust's discount is now 8 per cent, more than half what it was in November last year (Saba has taken advantage of this to trim its stake). And unlike many other trust chairs, Curling has a bit of get up and go about him. Curling believes the investment trust industry needs to do far more to attract investors – young and old – something which would help drive down discounts. His ideas include the use of social media to get younger people interested in investing, and the removal of jargon from key literature such as annual reports. He adds: 'We must present our case better to potential investors. Plain English, not jargon.' Curling is bang on the nail. Although stellar investment performance will always be the number one priority for investors (MESC's share price is up 17 per cent over the past year), investment trusts must become more relevant to today's investors. Otherwise there is a danger many will be undermined by discounts. On a related issue, the industry's flag waver, the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), is calling for a change in UK company law that would ensure more trust shareholders vote on key issues, such as a trust's discontinuation or takeover. Currently, many shareholders are thwarted from voting because the platform they hold their investments with don't pass on details. The AIC has launched a petition on this issue. It needs 10,000 signatures for the Government to respond ( As a fan of trusts and investor empowerment, I've put my name to it, as have 1,798 other people. Are there 8,202 lovers of investment trusts out there who will get the petition to the next step? I do hope so. Leave Gift Aid alone, Rachel Gift Aid is a financial lifeline to many charities left battered and bruised by Chancellor Rachel Reeves's recent hike in employer National Insurance costs. It boosts the coffers of 66,000 charities by £1.6 billion a year. This month, I am doing two Race For Life runs for fabulous charity Cancer Research UK – a 5km event in London's Battersea Park, followed by a 10km run in glorious Worthing, West Sussex (I have a thing about piers). So far, Gift Aid, a 25 per cent top-up on donations, has increased my fundraising by more than £180. So, Rachel, I know you've made a pig's ear of the country's finances, but please leave Gift Aid alone come the Autumn Budget. You've hit charities once in the pocket. Twice would be cruel beyond cruel. Rachel de Vil. Watch out for your bank sneakily dropping chip and pin payments Like many readers, retired teacher Moira McCormick isn't a fan of new banking technology. She prefers cards that require a personal identification number (PIN) to contactless. 'It provides me with a layer of financial protection,' she says. But recently she used her card to pay for parking at her local Banbury railway station, only for the payment to be completed without requiring a PIN. Worried that anyone could use her card to pay for parking if she were to lose it, she contacted Chiltern Railways (operator of the car park) for an explanation. She was told that Mastercard and Visa have informed the company which provides the payment service for Chiltern's ticket machines that 'insecure unencrypted PIN validation' was no longer permitted. She was told to contact her card issuer (HSBC) for a replacement that asks for PIN verification. Chiltern informed her that some cardholders with Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland (NatWest) were also affected. 'I was told the change is meant to improve the security of my card,' says Moira, 'but it's now less secure. Anyone could use it if I lost it.' Indeed, when sales director Bradford Bines, from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, lost a card in a Manchester car park, he later discovered it was fraudulently used 29 times by exiting drivers. HSBC insisted that changes to the technology were designed to make cards 'more secure from criminals trying to steal data'. Moira's non-PIN payment, it said, was deemed to be 'low value and low risk', adding: 'A decision was made to approve this payment without a PIN for the convenience of the customer.' Moira isn't happy. She says HSBC should have informed her that some payments would no longer require a PIN. Fair point.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Hedge fund Saba reaches agreement with another investment trust target
LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - Activist hedge fund Saba Capital Management has reached a restructuring deal with another of the UK investment trusts it has targeted in a longstanding campaign to achieve higher returns. Saba said on Wednesday it had agreed with CQS Natural Resources Growth & Income (CYNL.L), opens new tab that the investment trust will offer investors a cash exit for their shares at full value, or if enough investors stick with the fund, it will raise dividends and lower management fees. Five of nine UK investment trusts have voted to restructure or liquidate this year because of Saba's $5.5 billion activist campaign that targeted UK investment funds. Saba Capital Management, founded and run by Boaz Weinstein, began the campaign in 2024 to overhaul seven close-ended investment trust boards over performance, adding more funds in February. Investment trusts hold a range of stocks and because of the costs of running them, funds' shares can trade at a discount to their net asset value (NAV). Weinstein first demanded that the trusts vote to give Saba board seats so the hedge fund might run those funds. But shareholders rejected this and more than half have now decided instead to restructure. Saba's CEF Opportunities 1 fund is up 5.11% in May and down 0.76% for 2025 so far, said HSBC data seen by Reuters. Here is the latest campaign update: "This outcome gives CYN (CQS Natural Resources Growth & Income) shareholders a clear choice: full liquidity at NAV or the opportunity to stay invested in a trust with a higher dividend and a reduced management fee. It's a true win-win," Weinstein said in a statement. Yet some investors like these discounts and restructuring means a loss of opportunity, like catching the funds at a cheap moment and collecting dividend payments. "Discounts to NAV are not always bad," said Chris Barter, an investment trust investor. "If you're an income investor buying an investment trust at a 15-25% discount, you'll achieve a yield which mutual funds and ETFs simply can't reach."
