Trustnet Magazine Issue 14 January 2016 | Page 18

INVESTMENT STRATEGY FLEXIBLE INVESTMENT MIXING IT UP AIC Flexible Investment comprises trusts that can invest across a range of asset classes, but Adam Lewis says the similarities between many of them end there T his month saw the Association of Investment Companies launch the Flexible Investment sector, partly to allow investors to compare investment trusts against openended funds with a similar mandate. The new sector houses 10 investment trusts, which combined have total assets under management of just over £5bn. The sector’s name mirrors the one used by the Investment Association, while the definition of the new peer group is: “Companies whose policy allows them to invest in a range of asset types.” Of those investment trusts that have agreed to move into 16 the new peer group, eight were formerly in the AIC Global sector: BACIT (Battle Against Cancer Investment Trust), Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust, Invesco Perpetual Select Balanced Risk, Miton Worldwide Growth Trust, New Star IT, Personal Assets Trust, RIT Capital Partners and Ruffer Investment Company. The remainder of the new sector is made up of the BlackRock Income Strategies Trust, which moved over from AIC Global Equity Income, and the Capital Gearing Trust, which sat in the AIC UK All Companies sector. Explaining the rationale behind the launch of th