Which CEF Manager Halved His Personal Stake?

CEF DIRECTOR MOVES: Reshuffles at the helm of Bankers Trust; a number directors changing personal stakes in the closed-end funds they look after; and more

Jackie Beard, FCSI, 28 February, 2011 | 11:05AM
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Director Changes: February 21-25
Francis Sumner has retired from the board of Bankers Trust (BNKR) after a 14-year stint. Richard Killingbeck is taking his position as senior independent director. Peter Sullivan has been appointed to the board; as well as serving on the board of JPMorgan India (JII), he is chairman of the board of Cenkos Securities, whose activities include corporate broking to closed-end funds. We are comfortable there is no conflict of interest here, though, because the broker to Bankers in the UK is JPMorgan Cazenove.

David Horner, co-manager of Chelverton Growth (CGW), has more than halved his personal stake in the company by selling 250,000 shares. This doesn’t appear to be just a matter of raising his ISA allowance as gross proceeds from the sale exceed £57,000.

We’re pleased to see Andrew Evans taking a stake in Framlington AIM VCT 2, having joined the board as a non-executive director in August 2010. This helps to align his interests with those of the fund’s shareholders.

John Aston has joined the board of International Biotechnology Trust (IBT). He holds a similar role already at competitor Polar Capital Global Healthcare Growth & Income (PCGH). He spent a decade at Cambridge Antibody Technology Group and a further five years at Intercytex Group (now Regenerative Medicine Assets Ltd) so brings a strong background in the industry. The funds differ from each other in that IBT contains a portfolio of unquoted companies, often around one-third of assets, whereas Polar’s aim is to invest primarily in listed companies.

Charles Wilkinson has joined the board of Premier Energy & Water Trust (PEW). He currently serves on two other boards of listed companies and was also chairman of Premier Renewable Energy for over two years.

Two non-executive directors have been selling shares in Private Equity Investor (PEQ). Peter Dicks serves on the board of 13 different listed companies and it looks to us like he’s raised this year’s ISA investment from his shares in PEQ.

John Baldwin has joined the board of Ruffer Investment Company (RICA) as a non-executive director, taking the total number of members to seven.

Director Buying
Aberdeen Asian Income (AAIF) – Peter Arthur
Alliance Trust (ATST) – Rob Burgess, Katherine Garrett-Cox
Amati VCT (ATI) – Paul Jourdan (manager)
British Assets (BSET) – Lynn Ruddick
British Portfolio Trust (BPO) – Jonathan Cartwright
Brunner (BUT) – Ian Barlow
Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN) – Scott Dobbie CBE
Framlington AIM VCT 2 (FAMT) – Andrew Evans
Income & Growth VCT (IGV) – Helen Sinclair, Colin Hook, Jonathan Cartwright
Jupiter Dividend & Growth Comm (JDTC) – Keith Bray
Murray Income (MUT) – Patrick Gifford
Murray International (MYI) – Alfred Shedden
New India (NII) – Sarah Bates
Reconstruction Capital II (RC2) – Ion Florescu
Rensburg AIM VCT (RSB) – Barry Anysz
Standard Life UK Smaller Cos (SLS) – Lynn Ruddick
Talisman First VCT (TFV) – William Nixon, Brian May
Temple Bar (TMPL) – June de Moller
Unicorn AIM VCT (UAV) – James Grossman
Value & Income (VIN) – David Smith

Director Selling
Chelverton Growth (CGW) – David Horner (manager)
Private Equity Investor (PEQ) – Peter Dicks, Lady Barbara Judge

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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