In this week’s edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Simon Barnard, manager of the Smithson Investment Trust (SSON), and Ewan Lovett-Turner, head of investment trust research at Numis Securities. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free.
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A tremor in the bond markets

0:00:44 – This week’s guest
0:01:25 – Review of the week
0:04:20 – Corporate news and announcements
0:09:06 – Money Makers Circle
0:10:02 – Summary of results
0:16:10 – Q&A with Simon Barnard
0:18:24 – The changing outlook for a recession
0:22:46 – The behaviour of the currencies and the impact on results
0:23:31 – Portfolio turnover
0:25:52 – Interest in AI
0:30:45 – Rightmove and the UK housing market
0:32:55 – Attractiveness of the UK market
0:34:05 – General message to shareholders
0:35:23 – Q&A with Ewan Lovett-Turner
0:37:25 – The outlook for interest rates and reratings
0:39:55 – Issues for boards to address
0:48:12 – Management changes
0:50:04 – Board decisions on capital allocation
0:57:16 – Value in alternative assets
0:59:09 – Equity trusts
1:00:04 – Close
Trusts mentioned in this week’s podcast (with tickers) include:
- Seraphim Space (SSIT)
- Digital 9 Infrastructure (DGI9)
- Schiehallion (MNTN/MNTC)
- HydrogenOne (HGEN)
- Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG)
- Home REIT (HOME)
- ThomasLloyd Energy Impact (TLEI)
- International Biotechnology Trust (IBT)
- Mid Wynd Investment Trust (MWY)
- Ediston Property Investment Company (EPIC)
- Axiom European Financial Debt (AXI)
- Pantheon International (PIN)
- Aberforth Split Level Income Trust (ASIT)
- Rights and Issues Investment Trust (RIII)
- Henderson Small Companies (HSL)
- CT Managed Global Portfolio (CMPG)
- Premier Miton Global Renewables (PMGR)
- MIGO Opportunities (MIGO)
- Invesco Select (IVPU)
- F&C Investment Trust (FCIT)
- RIT Capital Partners (RCP)
- Tritax Big Box (BBOX)
- Smithson Investment Trust (SSON)
- Fidelity European Trust (FEV)
- Impax Environmental Markets (IEM)
- Allianz Technology Trust (ATT)
- Scottish and American Investment Trust (SAIN)
- European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT)
- Fidelity Japan (FJV)
- Mobius Investment Trust (MMIT)
- BlackRock Energy and Resources Income (BERI)
- Abrdn New Dawn (ABD) / Asia Dragon (DGN)
- Abrdn Diversified Income and Growth (ADIG)
- Abrdn Japan (AJIT) / Nippon Active Value (NAVF)
- CT Property Trust (CTPT) / Industrials REIT
- Civitas Social Housing (CSH)
- Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG)
- Chrysalis Investments (CHRY)
- Scottish Mortgage Trust (SMT)
About Money Makers
We are an independent research and publishing venture committed to providing high-quality investment information and resources. You can sign up below to be notified about the latest podcasts by email as soon as they become available. Please note that the podcasts should not be regarded as personal financial advice, but are provided for information and background only. We are very grateful for your continued support and the enthusiastic response to our 170 podcasts in the more than three years since launch.
Disclosures about the editor’s personal holdings of investment trusts can be found here. Our podcasts are also available on the Association of Investment Companies website (www.theaic.co.uk) and Doceo (doceo.tv). The producer of the podcasts is the brilliant Ben Gamblin – more details on him here.
