Putting the trust in investing

The investment trust industry, in some corners, finds itself in one of the periods of attacks it seems to face every couple of years. Many generalist trusts are relatively easy prey for so-called arbitrageurs.

Laxey Partners is doing battle with Alliance investment trust and has just given up trying to do the same to Throgmorton. It sold its stake in Throgmorton, now run by BlackRock under the stewardship of Richard Plackett and Mike Prentis, and Laxey might argue the improvement in performance under the BlackRock management justifies its agitation. The Alliance Trust, one of the UK’s oldest and finest long-term performers, is under the stewardship of Katherine Garrett-Cox, and with assets in the region of £2.5bn, holds the savings of many private investors. Laxey has built up a position of...