INVESTMENT STRATEGY
from an investment trust that
simply invests in global equities,”
Lyon said. “The new sector will
allow greater comparability
between the 10 constituents
and their open-ended peers
and should help potential
investors make a more informed
investment decision.”
NO HESITATION
A spokesperson for the Henderson
Alternative Investment Strategies
Trust, previously the Henderson
Value Trust, says it had no
hesitation in moving into the
sector, pointing out it had no
natural peers among the AIC
Global trusts.
The fund, run by Ian Barrass
and James de Bunsen, is currently
fourth quartile in the Global
sector over one and three years.
However, despite its move, it still
sits bottom of the new Flexible
Investment sector over all of
these periods. Henderson picked
FLEXIBLE INVESTMENT
“THE NEW SECTOR
WILL ALLOW GREATER
COMPARABILITY
BETWEEN THE 10
CONSTITUENTS AND
THEIR OPEN-ENDED
PEERS”
up the mandate, then named
SVM Global, from SVM Asset
Management in June 2013.
Mark Dampier, head of
research at Hargreaves
Lansdown, says investors’
research needs to consist of more
PERFORMANCE OF TRUSTS VS SECTOR OVER 3YRS
70%
Brompton Asset Management LLP - New Star IT (61.42%)
60%
RIT Capital Partners plc - RIT Capital Partners (58.44%)
50%
Bacit - Bacit Limited (25.06%)
40%
AIC Flexible Investment sector (20.99%)
A DIFFICULT EXERCISE
30%
20%
10%
0%
trustnetdirect.com
Nov
Sep
Jul
May
Mar
Jan 15
Nov
Sep
Jul
May
Mar
Jan 14
Nov
Sep
Jul
May
Mar
Jan 13
-10%
Source: FE Analytics
than just looking at performance
figures before they buy a trust in
the new sector.
“What sectors funds are in
is very important to the actual
fund groups, but from my point
of view I want to know what is in
the actual fund and this involves
taking more of a look under the
bonnet,” he said.
For example, he points out
that while RIT Capital Partners
and the Personal Assets Trust
may sit in the same sector, they
are completely different in their
make-up.
“Personal Assets is more UK
orientated and focused on capital
preservation, whereas RIT is a
genuine multi-asset vehicle which
invests in hedge funds, private
equity and direct shares,” he said.
“They may be in the same
sector, but the two funds could
not be more different. So while
it does not hurt to be able to
compare such funds, when
they are all doing it in such
different ways it becomes a
difficult exercise.”
19