Money Makers

In this week’s edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to James Carthew, director of QuotedData. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free. This edition of the podcast was recorded during the week ending Friday 18 August 2023, prior to the latest update from the Board of Ediston Property Investment Company (EPIC) following recent press speculation. It has confirmed it is in advanced discussions with RI UK 1 Limited, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Realty Income Corporation, regarding a possible sale of the fund’s property portfolio. There is currently no certainty that a sale of the portfolio will take place, nor as to the final terms on which any such sale might be undertaken. At this time the Board is continuing to conduct its previously announced strategic review and will do so until further notice. Section Timestamps: 00:44 - Review of the week 05:14 - Money Mak

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Colm Walsh, co-manager of the ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT), and Emma Bird, head of investment trust research and specialist property analyst at Winterflood Securities. Please note that due to holidays, the next podcast will be released later than normal, but it can be expected by Monday 21 August 2023. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free. Section Timestamps: 0:01:26 - This week's guests 0:02:06 - Review of the week 0:04:53 - Corporate news and announcements 0:12:33 - Summary of results 0:15:51 - Money Makers Circle 0:16:48 - Q&A with Colm Walsh 0:16:56 - Are wide discounts about to turn? 0:18:28 - Putting shareholder interests first 0:19:19 - Mid-market private equity 0:21:27 - Why large discounts exist 0:24:02 - Fees in private equity 0:25:51 - Consequences of sharp interest rate rises 0:30:41

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Simon Barnard, manager of the Smithson Investment Trust (SSON), and Ewan Lovett-Turner, head of investment trust research at Numis Securities. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free. Section Timestamps: 0:00:44 - This week's guest 0:01:25 - Review of the week 0:04:20 - Corporate news and announcements 0:09:06 - Money Makers Circle 0:10:02 - Summary of results 0:16:10 - Q&A with Simon Barnard 0:16:24 - The last seven months and where we are today 0:18:24 - The changing outlook for a recession 0:22:46 - The behaviour of the currencies and the impact on results 0:23:31 - Portfolio turnover 0:25:52 - Interest in AI 0:30:45 - Rightmove and the UK housing market 0:32:55 - Attractiveness of the UK market 0:34:05 - General message to shareholders 0:35:23 - Q&A with Ewan Lovett-Turner 0:35:34 - Discounts

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Andrew McHattie, editor of the Investment Trusts Newsletter. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free. Section Timestamps: 00:44 - This week's guest 00:57 - Review of the week 04:42 - Corporate news and announcements 09:51 - Summary of results 14:25 - Money Makers Circle 15:04 - Q&A with Andrew McHattie 15:15 - The current state of affairs 18:33 - Commercial property 25:17 - Consolidation and mergers 32:03 - Private equity 38:07 - UK smaller companies 43:49 - Close Trusts mentioned this week (with tickers): Abrdn Smaller Companies Income (ASCI), Boussard & Gavaudan (BGHL), HydrogenOne (HGEN), Digital 9 Infrastructure (DGI9), Abrdn New Dawn (ABD) / Abdrn Asia Dragon (DGN), Abrdn Smaller Companies Income (ASCI) / Shires Income (SHRS), Abrdn Diversified Income and Growth (ADIG), MIGO Opportunities Trust (

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Duncan MacInnes, manager of the Ruffer Investment Company (RICA). Simon Elliott, client director at JPMorgan Asset Management and former co-host and co-founder of the podcast also returns after about a year off the show. Section Timestamps: 0:00:29 - This week's guests 0:01:39 - Sponsorship of the podcast 0:03:53 - The markets this week 0:07:20 - Announcements and results 0:13:58 - Corporate news 0:16:36 - Money Makers Circle 0:16:54 - Q&A with Duncan MacInnes 0:17:05 - Latest trust results 0:22:49 - Are markets losing touch with reality? 0:26:58 - Portfolio changes 0:29:33 - Thinking on commodities 0:32:13 - The demand for bonds 0:36:35 - Reaction to the derating of investment trusts 0:39:22 - Trust performance before and after crises 0:41:23 - The impact of politics 0:43:24 - Q&A with Simon Elliott 0:43:59 - About the sponsorship of the podcast 0:45:31 - Cau

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Alastair Laing, CEO of CG Asset Management. Section Timestamps: 00:29 - Review of the week 03:38 - This week's guest 05:57 - Money Makers Circle 06:33 - Coming next week 07:02 - News and announcements 11:18 - Summary of results 14:40 - Q&A with Alastair Laing 15:07 - Reasons for poor performance 17:50 - Index linked performance 23:39 - The equity market 30:52 - Rising bond yields and the extent of derating 38:04 - Commercial property 41:05 - Consolidation in the alternatives sector 42:49 - Opportunities to bring in a discount 52:02 - Summarising CGT's position 54:14 - Close Trusts mentioned this week (with tickers): Scottish Mortgage (SMT), Seraphim Space (SSIT), LXi REIT (LXI), Supermarket Income REIT (SUPR), Capital Gearing Trust (CGT), ThomasLloyd Energy Impact (TLEI), US Solar Fund (USF), RM Infrastructure Income (RMII), Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG), Artemis

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Anthony Leatham, head of investment trust research at Peel Hunt, and Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech (AUGM). Section Timestamps: 00:29 - Review of the week 01:42 - This week's guests 03:13 - The week's performance 04:12 - Money Makers Circle 04:47 - News, announcements, and results 07:46 - Q&A with Anthony Leatham 07:53 - Reaction to the market 11:56 - The broking business 14:06 - Factors involved in derating investment trusts 15:49 - Infrastructure and renewables 19:28 - Trusts sensitive to bond yield changes 22:47 - Battery storage sector 25:52 - Trusts sending distress signals 27:51 - M&A possibilities 32:04 - Q&A with Tim Levene 32:38 - The definition of fintech 34:30 - Performance over five years 41:16 - Investor scepticism about private equity 45:04 - Views on the current environment 47:37 - Artificial Intelligence 50:14 - The portfolio 52

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Peter Hewitt, manager of the CT Global Managed Portfolio, and James Henderson, manager of the Lowland Investment Trust (LWI). Section Timestamps: 0:00:29 - Review of the week 0:00:53 - This week's guests 0:05:35 - Company news 0:15:42 - Summary of results 0:21:14 - Money Makers Circle 0:22:06 - Q&A with Peter Hewitt 0:22:51 - The last six months 0:29:58 - Discounts in the alternative assets sector 0:33:06 - Commercial property 0:35:53 - Portfolio changes 0:42:28 - Expectations for the next six months 0:45:47 - Q&A with James Henderson 0:46:09 - Looking at the UK market 0:48:12 - Factors behind the unloved nature of the UK market 0:52:26 - Where will interest rates peak? 0:55:19 - Performance impact of a small and mid cap bias 0:56:47 - What happens when the UK equity market turns around 0:59:01 - Fund manager style and philosophy 0:59:49 - Lowland's divide

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to James Carthew, former fund manager and current director of QuotedData, and Colette Ord, infrastructure and renewables analyst at Numis Securities. Section Timestamps: 00:29 - Review of the week 04:12 - This week's guests 04:32 - Money Makers Circle 04:59 - Corporate news 07:10 - Selected results 13:05 - Q&A with James Carthew 13:30 - Impact of the base rate change on investment trusts 18:13 - Monks Investment Trust (MNKS) 21:03 - Abrdn Diversified Income and Growth (ADIG) 26:18 - Rockwood Strategic (RKW) 28:58 - Civitas Social Housing (CSH) 31:49 - Cordiant Digital Infrastructure (CORD) 35:05 - Investing in AI through investment trusts 37:54 - Q&A with Colette Ord 38:04 - Market reaction to the base rate rise 41:05 - Trust in the NAVs 43:27 - Using the wrong comparisons 46:05 - Trusts with minimal leverage while trading at significant discounts 48:31 - The

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Nick Greenwood, manager of the MIGO Opportunities Trust (MIGO) and Merryn Somerset Webb, columnist and podcaster at Bloomberg and former editor of MoneyWeek. Section Timestamps: 0:00:29 - Review of the week 0:03:47 - This week's guests 0:04:20 - Summary of results 0:11:17 - Money Makers Circle 0:12:03 - Q&A with Nick Greenwood 0:12:21 - Investment trusts sector continues to languish 0:15:01 - Retail investor perceptions 0:16:47 - Effect of bond yields on demand 0:17:37 - Consolidation 0:18:43 - Alternative assets 0:19:32 - Renewable energy 0:24:41 - Private equity 0:26:30 - Equity markets 0:28:51 - Portfolio activities 0:32:28 - UK equity market 0:35:11 - Q&A with Merryn Somerset Webb 0:35:35 - Working for Bloomberg 0:36:40 - Thoughts on the investment trust sector 0:38:29 - Accuracy of price signals 0:43:29 - Baillie Gifford 0:46:42 - The role of th

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, continues his conversation with Russell Napier, chairman of Mid Wynd International Investment Trust (MWY). Listeners can find the first half of this discussion in the podcast released on 27 May 2023. Jonathan then talks to Janette Rutherford, emeritus professor of finance at the Open University, to talk about lessons that can be learnt from the history of investment trusts. Jonathan remains on holiday this week, but Stuart Watson returns to provide the summary of the week's announcements and results. Next week's podcast will be released later than usual, on Tuesday 20 June 2023, after which the normal Saturday schedule will return. Section Timestamps: 00:29 - Coming up this week 01:44 - News and announcements with Stuart Watson 02:45 - Summary of the week's results 10:42 - Money Makers Circle 11:14 - Q&A with Russell Napier (Part 2) 15:16 - Commercial and residential property 17:52

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, is joined by Simon Edelsten, manager of the Mid Wynd International Investment Trust (MWY). Jonathan also spoke to Paul and Richard Pindar, respectively the chairman and CEO of Literacy Capital (BOOK). Jonathan is on holiday over the coming couple of weeks, but the podcast continues with pre-recorded interviews this week and next, with Stuart Watson providing the summary of the week's announcements and results. Section Timestamps: 0:00:29 - This week's guests 0:02:07 - Money Makers Circle 0:02:39 - Next week 0:03:26 - Summary of announcements and results with Stuart Watson 0:11:47 - Q&A with Simon Edelsten 0:12:31 - Artificial intelligence and big tech 0:17:56 - The situation with respect to interest rates 0:26:22 - Fear of missing out 0:29:37 - Japan 0:36:06 - Europe 0:38:45 - The UK 0:39:43 - Looking ahead 0:41:45 - Simon's plans 0:43:26 - Q&A with Paul and Richard Pind

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, is joined by financial historian and market strategist Russell Napier, chairman of Mid Wynd International Investment Trust (MWY), in part one of their recent conversation (part two follows next week). Jonathan also speaks to Max King, former investment trust fund manager at Investec. Section Timestamps: 01:05 - The markets this week 03:46 - Investment trusts news 11:21 - This week's results 15:15 - Money Makers Circle 15:42 - Noteable interim results 17:14 - Q&A with Russell Napier (Part 1) 17:43 - The Federal debt ceiling 27:15 - The debt burden 29:40 - The 2% inflation target 36:37 - The attractiveness of bonds going forward 37:31 - Q&A with Max King 37:40 - How the year is panning out 40:46 - The Bank of England's response to inflation 42:22 - The UK market 44:52 - The investment trusts sector 45:31 - Infrastructure and renewables 49:05 - Commercial property 50:59

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, speaks to Matt Hose, alternatives analyst at Jefferies. Section Timestamps: 00:29 - Coming up 02:11 - The markets this week 09:45 - Money Makers Circle 10:28 - Annual results 11:59 - Interim results 15:46 - Q&A with Matt Hose 15:54 - Scottish Mortgage Trust (SMT) 23:36 - Private equity 24:32 - HG Capital Trust (HGCT) 26:29 - Growth capital sector 27:34 - Renewable energy sector 33:22 - Debt sector 35:12 - Looking ahead 36:41 - Close Trusts mentioned (with tickers): Abrdn European Logistics Income (ASLI), Abrdn Japan (AJIT), Nippon Active Value Fund (NAVF), International Biotechnology Trust (IBT), North American Smaller Companies (NAS), JPMorgan Multi-Asset Growth & Income (MATE), Finsbury Growth and Income (FGT), Lowland Investment Company (LWI), Abrdn Equity Income (AEI), Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies (SST), Tritax EuroBox (EBOX), Scottish Mortgage Trust (SMT), HG Cap

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, speaks to Andrew McHattie, editor of the Investment Trusts Newsletter, and Ailsa Craig and Marek Poszepczynski, co-managers of the International Biotechnology Trust (IBT). Section Timestamps: 0:00:29 - This week's guests 0:01:57 - The markets this week 0:04:05 - This week's news 0:04:29 - Money Makers Circle 0:05:20 - Noteable results and announcements 0:08:12 - Q&A with Andrew McHattie 0:08:24 - Bank of England base rate change 0:11:23 - Investment trust sector pe rformance 0:12:36 - Civitas Social Housing (CSH) 0:17:39 - Home REIT (HOME) 0:21:25 - US Solar Fund (USF) 0:23:23 - The renewables sector 0:25:31 - Private equity 0:29:13 - 3i Group (III) 0:31:20 - ICG Enterprise (ICGT) 0:35:00 - Q&A with Ailsa Craig and Marek Poszepczynski 0:35:14 - What IBT does and how it differs 0:36:09 - Why choose to invest in IBT 0:37:34 - The factors involved in declining returns

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, speaks to Ewan Lovett-Turner, head of investment trust research at Numis Securities, and Laura Elkin, portfolio manager of AEW UK REIT (AEWU). Section Timestamps: 00:29 - This week's guests 02:59 - Money Makers Circle 03:32 - The markets this week 05:26 - Highlights from the week's results 08:05 - Q&A with Ewan Lovett-Turner 08:53 - Looking back over 2023 so far 12:41 - Perceptions of the current market outlook 14:47 - Key news items this week 14:51 - IPOs and Fundraising 20:17 - Private equity 25:23 - Boards and buy backs 27:35 - The alternatives sector 29:55 - International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) 32:07 - Q&A with Laura Elkin 32:36 - The strategy of AEWU, and its portfolio weightings 35:59 - Target return as a value investor 38:31 - The gearing policy 40:39 - The re-rating of commercial property 44:35 - Investing in retail 48:09 - Alternative use 50:55 - V

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, speaks to James de Uphaugh, lead manager of the Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN), and Stuart Widdowson, manager of the Odyssean Investment Trust (OIT). Section Timestamps: 0:00:29 - This week's guests 0:01:35 - The markets this week 0:03:03 - Money Makers Circle 0:03:47 - News and announcements 0:08:03 - Annual results 0:16:46 - Interim results 0:20:21 - Q&A with James de Uphaugh 0:20:56 - Taking on the Edinburgh Investment Trust 0:22:47 - Immediate reactions and changes due to the then-developing pandemic 0:25:24 - Factors influencing good performance to date 0:27:34 - The gearing strategy 0:30:16 - Advantages of managing an investment trust 0:32:15 - The UK market performance 0:34:38 - Investment style 0:37:36 - What is the trust's "special sauce"? 0:39:46 - Portfolio weightings and changes 0:45:11 - The discount and ambitions for the trust 0:46:56 - The UK as a pl

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, speaks to Paul ffolkes Davis, chairman of Rising Sun Management, investment advisor to Nippon Active Value Fund (NAVF), and Ian Lance, co-manager of the Temple Bar Investment Trust (TMPL). Section Timestamps: 0:00:57 - This week's guests 0:01:45 - The markets this week 0:03:30 - Results and announcements with Stuart Watson 0:10:16 - Q&A with Paul ffolkes Davis 0:11:18 - The investment approach 0:14:24 - Company reactions 0:17:06 - Japanese MBOs 0:18:40 - Benefits to the trust 0:21:36 - The impact of a newspaper article 0:26:44 - Corporate governance and the pace of change 0:28:07 - Risks 0:30:58 - Returning shares to a premium 0:33:24 - The Japanese market 0:36:47 - Q&A with Ian Lance 0:37:15 - Management style and performance so far 0:38:20 - Experience in 2022 0:40:22 - Performance so far in 2023 0:41:22 - What it means to be a value investor 0:44:11 - Oil, mi

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, speaks to Marcus Phayre-Mudge, manager of TR Property Investment Trust (TRY), and Jon Forster, co-portfolio manager at Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) - a discussion available in full to subscribers to the Money Makers Circle. Section Timestamps: 0:00:29 - Review of the week 0:01:54 - This week's guests 0:02:55 - Summary of the week's results 0:05:39 - News and announcements 0:07:56 - Money Makers Circle 0:08:33 - Q&A with Marcus Phayre-Mudge 0:09:02 - Looking back at the 2022 sell-off 0:11:07 - Short-term worries 0:13:08 - The cost of money 0:15:38 - Has the market priced in all the bad things that might happen? 0:19:21 - Changes to the portfolio 0:25:25 - Ediston Property and consolidation 0:28:06 - Merger of LXi REIT (LXI) and Secure Income REIT (SIR), and smaller commercial property trusts 0:34:16 - Dividend cuts 0:41:23 - TR Property Trust and its dividend 0:45:3

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, speaks to Peter Spiller, manager of Capital Gearing Trust (CGT), and Andrew McHattie, founder and editor of The Investment Trust Newsletter. Section Timestamps: 0:00:28 - Review of the week 0:03:11 - This week's guests 0:04:16 - Summary of results 0:10:05 - Corporate news 0:12:21 - Money Makers Circle 0:13:09 - Q&A with Peter Spiller 0:18:10 - Are investors bound to lose money in the coming period? 0:24:59 - Private equity 0:28:12 - Governance of investment trusts and impact on the sector 0:31:52 - Reasons for wide discounts 0:33:34 - Mergers and consolidation 0:35:20 - Opportunities afforded by wide discounts 0:38:26 - The case for Japanese stocks 0:41:36 - Q&A with Andrew McHattie 0:41:53 - Performance in the first quarter of 2023 0:45:48 - Commercial property sector 0:50:46 - Renewable energy and infrastructure 0:54:34 - Equity trusts 0:58:41 - A potential IPO