Retail investors drive significant demand for investment trusts

Sophisticated retail investors are emerging as the driving force behind a resurgence in demand for investment trusts, according to a comprehensive new independent analysis of fund flows and ownership patterns in the investment trust sector. Private investors, mostly investing directly through online platforms, such as Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor, are putting new money into investment trusts more than three times as fast as the largest wealth managers are cutting back on their holdings.

The details are contained in a new report, “Investment Trusts: changing ownership trends 2019”, by Richard Davies Investor Relations Limited (RD:IR) and consultancy Warhorse Partners, which analysed share register data for over 220 UK-listed investment companies with a combined market value of £110 billion, representing around 70% of the total market capitalisation of the industry. This includes the majority of the major investment management firms and larger trusts, as well as many smaller specialist companies.

Investment trusts, which are listed public companies that compete for investment demand against ETFs, unit trusts, OEICs and other types of open-ended fund, are growing in popularity, despite the departure of many of their historically most important institutional supporters, such as pension funds and insurance companies.

Portfolio Adviser magazine wrote a thoughtful article and insights from the sector on the report on 6 July 2020.

https://portfolio-adviser.com/retail-investors-eclipse-wealth-managers-for-investment-trust-demand/

For more information, please contact us at info@warhorsepartners.com

23 July 2020