Foreword
By Annabel Brodie-Smith
I have witnessed a series of beautiful dawns over the last couple of days on my drive to the station. Pink skies and wispy mists flowing over the fields, with leaves turning golden have reminded me of my favourite poem, by John Keats. The “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” has arrived.
“It’s just one week until the Investment Company Showcase on Friday 10 October. We have 30 fund managers speaking including the keynote speaker, Nick Train of Finsbury Growth & Income and guest speaker, Baroness Helena Morrissey.”
It’s just one week until the Investment Company Showcase on Friday 10 October. We have 30 fund managers speaking including the keynote speaker, Nick Train of Finsbury Growth & Income and guest speaker, Baroness Helena Morrissey. Managers are travelling from far and wide to be with us, with Jack Caffrey of JPMorgan American flying in from New York and Sat Duhra of Henderson Far East Income coming from Singapore. It’s not too late – you can register and attend in person at 133 Houndsditch near London’s Liverpool Street station or you can attend online. And it’s free with the code COMP1.
It's been a strong summer for markets and on Wednesday we saw the FTSE 100 close at an all-time high. In mid-September I talked to Ian Lance of Temple Bar Investment Trust, Thomas Moore of Aberdeen Equity Income Trust and Julian Cane of CT UK Capital & Income Investment Trust about the outlook for the UK and the challenges ahead. I’m sure like me you have found some of the leaks ahead of the budget quite terrifying so I wanted to find out their views. The managers are very positive about UK markets but refreshingly honest about “the anti-growth and anti-business policies of the current government”. It’s well worth watching our discussion and reading the release.
This month our investment correspondent, Ian Cowie, is exploring Global Emerging Markets, a sector which is performing well, delivering an impressive 28% return over the last year. Ian highlights “the sparkling performance” of the top-performing emerging markets trust with total assets above £100m over the last year, Barings Emerging EMEA Opportunities which is up by 44%, 54% and 143% over the last year, five years and ten years respectively.
“Ian Cowie is exploring Global Emerging Markets, a sector which is performing well, delivering an impressive 28% return over the last year.”
The other big emerging markets trusts, Fidelity Emerging Markets, Templeton Emerging Markets, and JPMorgan Global Emerging Markets Income are not far behind and the smaller trust, Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets has been performing really well. Recently, Ian has been tempted by the global emerging markets trust, BlackRock Frontiers, largely for its 4.5% dividend. For those of you who are interested in Asian emerging markets, please do take a look at our recent release covering the Asia Pacific and the Asia Pacific Equity Income sectors.
Finally, this month we are delving into the Debt – Loans & Bonds sector, the only investment trust sector trading on a premium, currently 2.6%. For bond investing the investment trust structure has some advantages, allowing managers to invest in less liquid bonds which are harder to buy and sell, while gearing can be very helpful to take advantage of opportunities in the fast-moving bond markets. Take a look at the manager comments on whether bonds are stiff a safe haven, whether corporate debt is more attractive than government debt and what are the main risks.
There’s another event coming up. On Friday 7th November, MoneyWeek are hosting their annual wealth summit in London, ‘Turmoil, Tariffs and Trump 2.0’. There are 11 investment trust managers among the 20-plus speakers sharing their insights. The AIC has negotiated a 20% discount on tickets for this event – please enter the code THEAIC20.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing you at the Showcase next week. Please do come and say hello to me. I will be in the Venture Suite moderating two sessions - the high income trust panel (that’s bonds) and the private equity panel.
“After all the excitement (and hard work!) I am going to Rome in half-term… I have already booked the vespa and sidecar tour complete with a cappuccino pitstop – la dolce vita!”
After all the excitement (and hard work!) I am going to Rome in half-term. It’s specifically a treat for my younger son, Fabian, now his older brother is living it up at Edinburgh University. But of course, it’s a treat for all of us. I have already booked the vespa and sidecar tour complete with a cappuccino pitstop – la dolce vita!
Annabel Brodie-SmithCommunications Director, AIC
