Marshall Wace plans to wind up investment trust

Marshall Wace is proposing to close its £130m listed investment trust MW Tops Ltd and instead roll investments into an unlisted Ucits portfolio.

The plans will go to a shareholder vote slated for the July AGM, and require at least 75% approval for the liquidation to proceed. A spokesman for Marshall Wace says the firm has nominated its unlisted €104.2m (£86.2m) MW Developed Europe Tops fund as the rollover vehicle. It targets 10% to 15% annually, compared to the trust's 12% to 16%. A rollover could be completed by October, with no tax implications for transferring investors, he adds. Charles Cade, the director of investment companies research at Numis Securities, says: "These proposals came as no surprise to us. We have long b...