Consolidation is a growing theme across the investment trust sector against a backdrop of stubbornly-wide NAV (net asset value) discounts and increasing pressure on sub-scale funds.2024 is already a record year for M&A (mergers and acquisitions) in a sector which has just seen the eleventh such deal announced, the value-oriented Invesco Asia Trust (IAT) planning to combine with Asia Dragon...

On 1 August the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee made a 5-4 decision to kickstart its rate-cutting cycle. A 25 basis point reduction in the base rate to 5% marking The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's first cut since March 2020.This means cash savings rates are heading in one direction, down. And the lower-than-expected jump in UK inflation reported on 14 August only boosted market...

As we move into another year there is plenty for investors to consider. Are we on the other side of inflationary pressures? Will rates be cut in 2024? What will happen with the US presidential election? In this article we address these and some other big questions for the year to come.IS THE BATTLE AGAINST INFLATION OVER, WILL RATES BE CUT IN 2024 AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE DOLLAR?A big...

We would hesitate to call it a wave of consolidation - maybe a ripple would be more appropriate - but this year has seen a number of mergers among investment trusts.There is a long tail of sub-scale funds and trusts in the UK all desperate to attract more investors, but with the average discount to net asset value hitting 18% at the end of October, according to research from Winterflood...

According to data from the AIC, the average investment trust discount to net asset value has widened from 12.2% at the end of 2022 to 14.5% as of 8 September 2023, while sector averages have generally widened. The exception is private equity, which narrowed from 25.1% to 4.5%, skewed by 3i's (III) dramatic swing from discount to premium.While this presents an opportunity to buy into parts of...

Infrastructure trusts to mergeDeal continues trend towards consolidationAsset manager Abrdn leads the wayAgainst a backdrop of falling NAVs (net asset values) due to higher UK interest rates, and with the average discount across the investment trust sector hitting its widest level since 2008 in the second quarter, it seems more managers are biting the bullet and agreeing to merge.After...