This week, we have two guests from BlackRock Energy and Resources Income (BERI) joining the podcast: manager Tom Holl, and chairman Adrian Brown. We discuss the impact of conflict in the Middle East and the trust’s three-pronged approach ahead of its continuation vote next week. Hosted by Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook (winner of the AIC Best Broadcast Journalist Award 2024 and 2025).
You can listen to this podcast in full on the audio player below. Alternatively, you can subscribe via our YouTube channel and most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Soundcloud. You can also find us listed on The AIC’s Podcast Directory. We are grateful to J.P. Morgan Asset Management, whose no-strings support enables us to keep the podcast free and our editorial integrity intact.
Jonathan is now writing market and other comments on Substack (jdinvestor.substack.com), and for those of you who follow Money Makers on social media, two new channels are now available – TikTok (@moneymakers_its) and Bluesky (@money-makers.co). Do give us a follow!
If you enjoy the Investment Trusts Podcast, you may also find value in joining The Money Makers Circle. This membership scheme offers subscribers an opportunity to receive additional premium content, including interviews, investment trust performance data, market/portfolio reviews and regular extracts from the editor’s notebook. The Circle currently features a profile of BlackRock American Income (BRAI). Future profiles include TwentyFour Income Fund (TFIF) and Patria Private Equity (PPET). Our weekly subscriber email includes a comprehensive summary of all the latest news, plus the week’s biggest share price, NAV and discount movements. Subscribe and you will never miss any important developments from the sector. A subscription costs £12 a month, or £120 for one year with a two week free trial.
324: Tom Holl and Adrian Brown

0:00:56 – The impact of the Iran War on the energy sector
0:03:53 – Vulnerabilities to the global economy
0:06:42 – The three investment “buckets”
0:13:50 – A short break
0:14:54 – The position of the trust as it approaches a continuation vote
0:17:47 – Making the case for the strategy within a small trust
0:19:24 – Saba Capital, activist investors, and discount control
0:22:46 – The enhanced income strategy and a reduction in gearing
0:30:35 – Reflecting on incorporating energy transition
0:31:51 – Renewable energy trusts
0:33:50 – The case made to shareholders
0:36:12 – Consequences of an escalating crisis in the Middle East
0:37:30 – Hedging currency
0:39:17 – Close
OUT NOW: The Investment Trusts Handbook 2026
The Investment Trusts Handbook 2026 is the ninth edition of the highly regarded annual handbook for anyone interested in investment trusts – often referred to as the City’s best-kept secret, or the connoisseur’s choice among investment funds. It is expertly edited by well-known author and professional investor Jonathan Davis, founder and editor of the Money Makers newsletter and podcast. The Investment Trusts Handbook 2026 is an independent educational publication, available through bookshops and extensively online. With articles by 30 different authors, including analysts, fund managers and investment writers, plus more than 80 pages of detailed data and analysis, the latest edition is an indispensable companion for anyone looking to invest in the investment trust sector.

We are an editorially 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 320 podcasts in the over five years since launch!
Disclosures about the editor’s holdings of investment trusts can be found here. Our podcasts are also available on the Association of Investment Companies website (www.theaic.co.uk). The producer of the podcasts is the brilliant Ben Gamblin – more details on him here.