Last week was another volatile one for investors with the main equity indices experiencing further sharp falls. Those who are uncomfortable with this may want to move part of their portfolio into low volatility funds that invest in different asset classes in an effort to produce steady returns in all market conditions. One such is…
Infrastructure investment trusts have the potential to deliver steady, inflation beating returns, but most are heavily biased towards UK-based assets that are dependent on the local economy and political zeitgeist. When Global Diversified Infrastructure (LON: GDIV) floats on the London Stock Exchange later this month it will provide exposure to a number of different countries…
One of the most remarkable trends in the financial markets over the last few years has been the rise in popularity of alternative asset classes. This diverse sector includes everything from property and infrastructure, to specialist bond and hedge funds, with the lack of liquidity in these areas making investment trusts the obvious way to…
One of the most unusual property investment trusts is the Tritax Big Box REIT (LON:BBOX), which invests in warehouses for large blue-chip clients. It has delivered strong returns since the launch in 2013 and expects a further boost from Brexit as more companies look for UK warehouse facilities to avoid the new border controls. BBOX…
RIT Capital Partners (LON:RCP) delivered a solid NAV total return of 8.2% last year and remains defensively positioned. It is chaired by Lord Rothschild and aims to deliver long-term capital growth, whilst preserving shareholders’ capital. Since it was launched in 1988 the fund has achieved the impressive feat of participating in 75% of market upside,…
It has been a strong year for BlackRock World Mining (LON:BRWM) with a NAV return of 24% in 2017. The performance has been driven by the pick-up in global economic growth, and sentiment towards the fund is finally starting to improve after a significant write-down in 2013 dented investor confidence. If the economic recovery continues…
The way the markets have started 2018 suggests that we have entered a new phase of heightened volatility with plenty of downside risk. Investors who are uncomfortable with this environment may want to protect their capital by increasing their exposure to some of the more defensively positioned funds. These use a variety of strategies to…
One of the attractions of investment trusts is that in many cases the fund manager stays in place for years and this continuity increases the likelihood of consistent performance. Recently however, there have been a number of high profile departures that have forced investors to decide whether to stay put or move their money elsewhere.…
At times of extreme market stress, investment trusts tend to behave more like equities than funds, with the prevailing sense of nervousness driving their prices well beyond their underlying net asset values. This discount volatility creates both an extra source of risk as well as a potential opportunity. Whenever the market experiences a sharp sell-off…
The threat of a hard Brexit has held back the performance of domestically orientated UK stocks and created a value opportunity for those who believe that the economy will withstand all the business and political uncertainty surrounding the negotiations. If you share this view you might want to consider the Aurora Investment Trust (LON:ARR). This…
