Alliance Trust

Aberdeen Asset Management CEO Martin Gilbert said he wants to oust Katherine Garrett-Cox as chief executive of the £2.1bn Alliance Trust.

A growing focus on short-term fund performance combined with shorter market cycles is prompting professional investors to protect themselves by raising cash positions.

Activist investor Laxey Partners has reignited its long-running feud with Alliance Trust, urging it to hand over the management of its assets to a third party.

Alliance Trust has upped its dividend by 7% and posted a turnaround in performance in its annual results, with the trust leaping to top quartile in its sector.

The €1trn in cheap loans provided by the ECB since December is expected to be only the start of a wave of liquidity measures that store up problems for the eurozone.

Alliance Trust chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox has admitted the company needs to drive up demand for its shares in order to reduce its discount.

HOW INVESTORS LOST FAITH

Investment trust analysts have warned arbitrage activity will be rife in 2012 and could lead to a number of wind-ups in the sector this year.

Fund management groups struggled to raise assets for new products last year, with just eight funds launched in 2011 taking in more than £100m, according to FE data.

Alliance Trust has appointed Karin Forseke as non-executive chairman to replace Lesley Knox, who announced last year she intended to step down from the role.