Analysts opt to underweight European Growth after revamp

Investment trust analysts have labelled the Henderson TR European Growth trust a ‘sell' following a move by manager Ollie Beckett to take it down the market-cap spectrum.

Beckett, who replaced former manager Stephen Peak in July, has opted to slash large-cap holdings in favour of small- and mid-cap stocks, and the portfolio no longer holds stocks with a market cap above £4bn. However, the change came amid one of the worst sell-offs in Europe for years, and it has left the trust lagging peers in terms of performance. The trust is bottom of the European Smaller Companies sector, falling 4.3% over three years, compared to a peer group average gain of 9.4%, and analysts are concerned over the impact of the switch. J. P. Morgan Cazenove’s Matthew Hose is...