Financial Times Guide to Investment Trusts

John Baron has used investment trusts in both a private and professional capacity for over 30 years. On leaving the Army, he entered the City as a fund manager running a range of portfolios for private clients and charities. He was a Director of Henderson Private Clients, and then a Director of Rothschild Asset Management having been approached to run their private client core UK equity portfolio.   He is best known to readers of the FT’s Investor Chronicle magazine for having successfully run two live investment trust portfolios as measured by their appropriate APCIMs Growth and Income benchmarks. He also speaks at investment seminars   On entering politics, John has sat on the other side of the fence helping charities monitor their fund managers. He remains a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Management.  

Foreword

 

Introduction: The changing landscape

 

Chapter 1: Structure and scope

·   What are investment trusts?

·   Net asset value (NAV)

·   Discounts and premiums

·   Price and size

·   Range and reach

 

Chapter 2: Better performance

·   Share prices

·   NAV comparison

·   Clear message

·   The strange case of ‘Mirror funds’

 

Chapter3: Cheaper Fees

·   Charges compared

·   Effect on returns

·   Lessons from America

·   The TER and more

 

Chapter 4: Discount opportunities

·   Their importance

·   Factors affecting

·   Judging opportunities

·   The long term

 

Chapter 5: Other advantages

·   Gearing

·   Board of Directors

·   Shareholder power

·   Long term investing

·   Marketability

·   Dividends

·   Capital changes

 

Chapter 6: The disadvantages

·   Unhelpful gearing

·   Widening discounts

·   Poor liquidity

·   Rising fees

·   The result!

 

Chapter 7: Useful miscellany

·   Directors’ shareholdings

·   Report & Accounts

·   Doing the splits

·   ETFs and trackers

·   Portfolio turnover

 

Chapter 8: Investment objectives

·   Risk tolerances

·   Income requirements

·   Time horizons

·   Currency and other considerations

·   Choosing a benchmark

 

Chapter 9: Successful investing

·   Getting started

·   Staying invested

·   Diversification

·   Importance of dividends

·   Some other secrets!

 

Chapter 10: Portfolio construction

·   The Investors Chronicle portfolios

·   Balancing capital and income

·   Themes and geography

·   Risk and reward

·   Some golden rules

 

Conclusion