Analysts puzzle over mystery of widening investment trust discounts

The majority of investment trusts have seen their discounts widen in 2015 despite equity markets reaching record highs, leaving analysts perplexed.

Speaking at the Association of Investment Companies' UK Conference, Winterflood's Simon Elliott (pictured) said his team had noted a trend for widening discounts so far this year. A total of 193 of the 300 companies analysed have seen their discounts widen in 2015, some by over ten percentage points.  Elliott said this was unexpected, as investment company discount trends traditionally mirror wider market movements. However, the FTSE All Share is up 6% year to date, while other global markets have also hit record highs. He said: "As markets rise, discounts tend to narrow and as the...