Investment Trusts
These are companies whose business it is to invest such that the gains/losses accrue directly to the owners of the company.
Investment Trust shares are openly traded, which means that if you want to invest in an Investment Trust, you simply buy the shares in the market. These are closed ended funds and shares must be available for sale for an investor to buy. Shares cannot be created for example in the way that a Unit trust can create Units to satisfy demand.
From the investors point of view, Investment Trusts are packaging, not underlying investment. In order to represent the value at any time, the price of the shares should represent their proportion of the underlying value of the investment. However, the value is dependent upon the supply and demand for shares from investors and will normally trade at a premium or a discount.
Investment Trusts began in the Victorian era when the only way to invest was to buy direct. This made it very difficult and expensive for small investors to invest in shares on anything other than a speculative basis. Even today if you want to invest in shares directly, and want a reasonable spread of investments, without paying too high a percentage in fees, you should be starting with at least £50,000.
Investors got together and formed a company, the purpose of which was not to conduct a normal business, but simply to act as an investment vehicle for them.
Investment Trusts - Summary
Investors have to trust their fund managers rather more than they do in a typical Unit Trust or insurance company controlled fund. This is because the managers have more powers.
The rule should be to select the Investment Trust that suits your requirements, and then read everything you are subsequently sent in case the managers are telling you that they have done, or plan to do, something that will change the nature or strategy of the Investment Trust in ways that you do not wish.
When choosing an Investment Trust, be sure to understand its attitude towards gearing i.e. borrowing extra cash to buy more shares etc. (e.g. never borrow, as a way of smoothing portfolio changes or to aid more aggressive acquisition), along with its underlying investment strategy – i.e. sector and risk profile.
The value of investments and income from them can fluctuate (this may partially be the result of exchange rate fluctuations), and investors might not get back the full amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
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