It has been a busy month in the investment industry at the end of a year which has been characterised by political and economic upheaval.
The fall out from both Brexit and the US presidential elections could be seen in economic data released this month. In the US interest rates were raised while closer to home, inflation hit a two-year high.
But while the political changes we’ve seen this year have created unexpected challenges for the investment industry – they have also present opportunities. Many are clearly keen to make the most of these. This month we’ve seen major changes at some of the UK’s biggest investment trusts, and a raft of new fund launches announced for the new year.
We also take a look below at what have been the best and most disappointing investments of the year.
All Change at Alliance Trust
There is further changes ahead for investors in one of the UK’s oldest global investment trusts: Alliance Trust (ATST), worth around £2.6 billion.
The board announced plans adopt a multi-manager approach, replacing its in-house investment team. In recent years, Alliance Trust has come under pressure from activist investors to turnaround performance and reduce costs.
This move will see the sale of Alliance Trust Investments - a subsidiary of the trust - to Liontrust for up to £30m million. This sale is expected to go through by the end of this financial year.
This team, headed up by Peter Michaelis consists of 11 sustainable investment funds. This acquisition will boost Liontrust assets by around £2.3 billion, bring total assets under management to £8 billion.
Richard Troue, head of investment analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “It is encouraging to see the board take further steps to improve performance, but it is a shame it has taken so long to get this far.”
Investors comfortable with this strategic review need to invest for the longer term to fully benefit from these changes, he said. But he pointed out that there were other global investment trusts with long-track records, well established processes and experienced fund managers at the helm.
There is less disruption for those investing in ATI funds as the current team will continue running these funds according to its own investment process.
Witan Revises Performance Benchmark
Witan, the £1.8 billion global investment trust, has revised its benchmark to ensure it more accurately reflects the make-up of its portfolio.
This composite benchmark has reduced the weighting towards UK equities from 40% to 30%, increased its US equities weighting from 20 to 25% and added a 5% weighting towards emerging markets.
Andrew Bell, chief executive of the global trust said: “We are conscious our benchmark needs to remain relevant to our shareholders in a changing world. This revision creates a more diversified benchmark that better reflects the breadth of opportunities from which our managers should be able to pick stocks.”
Bell said Witan's decision to reduce the UK weighting to 30% is part of a longer-term trend, which saw the trust with 60% exposure to UK stocks back in 2004.
The trust adopts h a multi-manager approach with portfolios run by specialist managers: including Lindsell Train and Artemis.
Details of New Polar Capital Fund Launch
Polar Capital will launch its new UK Value fund at the end of the January. The fund - a long-only UCITS funds - will be run by Georgina Hamilton and George Godber. There has been a lengthy delay while both managers worked out notice periods with Miton, where the pair ran the successful UK Value Opportunities fund, which under their management grew to £870 million.
Initially this new fund will be managed by Hamilton with Godber joining in April. Tim Woolley, chief executive of Polar Capital said he was positive that this new fund would make “a significant contribution” to the overall profits of the company in future years.
People’s Trust Set for May Launch
In an update to investors Daniel Godfrey, former head of the Investment Association, says he hopes to launch his new flagship ‘People’s Investment Trust’ in “May or June” next year.
To date Godfrey has raised over £115,000 for the launch from investors, via a crowdfunded campaign. He said he had a pretty good idea of which managers will be approached to run funds, but no-one had yet been formally appointed.
The trust aims to offer a low-cost alternative to conventional investment funds, with the trust 100% owned by its customers. Further updates are expected in the new year.