A common theme of the most frequently viewed investment trusts in the last quarter was depth of expertise among the management. It’s also interesting to note that the list of funds is little changed from the first quarter of the year, showing investment trust investors are favouring those names where there is familiarity of manager and style. For example, Edinburgh Investment Trust is run by Neil Woodford, Jupiter European Opportunities by Alexander Darwell, and Scottish Oriental by Angus Tulloch and his team at First State, to name just three. These are all managers who are rated highly by Morningstar analysts at their open-end funds and whose track records encompass a variety of market conditions.
The majority of the top-10 funds pay a decent yield to their shareholders and make good use of the revenue reserve account—a key attraction of the investment trust structure. There has also been a fair degree of interest in trusts that focus on small-cap stocks—another benefit of the structure as it allows managers to dip down the market-cap scale and buy less-liquid stocks, without fear of redemption orders.
The list represents a mix of regions, showing investors are looking globally for opportunities. With the exception of Scottish Mortgage, all trusts have been trading at a premium to their net asset value recently and some have been issuing new shares.
10 Most Searched for Investment Trusts in Q2
Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust (AAS)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
The City of London Investment Trust (CTY)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
Murray International Trust (MYI)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (SMT)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
Perpetual Income and Growth Investment Trust (PLI)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
Personal Assets Trust (PNL)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
Jupiter European Opportunities Trust (JEO)
Rated Gold by Morningstar analysts
Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust (SST)
Rated Bronze by Morningstar analysts