Since the financial crisis of 2007-09 the banks have pulled back from some of their traditional lending activities and left a gap in the market that others have been able to take advantage of. A prime example is loans to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), with many of these organisations having to look elsewhere…
The fund manager sticking to his disciplined approach Neil Woodford is probably the best known fund manager of his generation – so when he left Invesco Perpetual in January 2014 to set up his own firm it created a massive dilemma for the company. They responded by appointing Mark Barnett as his replacement, and he…
The Personal Assets Trust (LON:PAT) has just released its interim accounts for the six months to the end of October. It is one of the most cautiously positioned investment trusts on the market, yet has an excellent long-term track record, so it is well worth having a close look at the manager’s latest update. Sebastian…
There are lots of factors to consider when investing in a fund, but it’s important not to overlook the way it is structured. An investment trust operates in a completely different manner to an open-ended fund such as an OEIC or unit trust and there are times when this can have a significant bearing on…
The latest annual report from the British Empire Trust suggests that there is significant potential for further strong long-term returns. Here’s why… A few weeks ago I wrote about the improvement in performance at the British Empire Trust (LON:BTEM), which can be traced back to when Joe Bauernfreund took over as lead manager in October…
You may have seen the pictures on the weekend news of Theresa May jetting off to India to smooth the way for the negotiation of the UK’s first post-Brexit trade deal. Ahead of her trip she described her destination as a leading power in the world. One of the best ways to benefit from the…
One of the things I like about investment trusts is that they don’t always get the attention that they deserve, which means you can often find attractively priced funds that have gone under the radar. A good example is the Secure Income REIT (LON:SIR). The fund was launched in 2014 to provide a high quality,…
Last week I wrote about Miton Global Opportunities (LON:MIGO), which is an interesting investment trust that exploits pricing anomalies amongst closed-ended funds. One of its holdings is the New Star Investment Trust (LON:NSI) and I think it is worth a closer look as it offers an intriguing and possibly unique opportunity. NSI was originally launched…
Miton Global Opportunities (MIGO) could make a useful diversifying holding. The policies followed by the world’s most influential central banks have distorted large parts of the market and left many areas looking vulnerable. This has made it difficult to find pockets of value and uncorrelated sources of return, which is where Miton Global Opportunities could…
There is a growing feeling that UK inflation could pick up dramatically over the next few years. You can see this from the increase in the five-year break even rate, which is based on the yield difference between conventional gilts and those linked to the RPI. In August this hit a 13-month high of 2.6%.…
