In this edition of the Money Makers Investment Trusts Podcast, Laurence Hulse, manager of the Onward Opportunities Trust (ONWD) joins Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook (winner of the AIC Best Broadcast Journalist Award 2024 and 2025), for a discussion including the performance and strategy of the trust, some of the portfolio holdings, and macroeconomic and political risks. The trust is still tiny in terms of market capitalisation, but has made some good progress in very challenging conditions since coming to the market three years ago with a UK small cap equities strategy, enabling it to issue some shares and move to the main market. A star of the future – who knows?
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335: Laurence Hulse
0:02:07 – Reflecting on the past three years
0:06:09 – Trading around par and issuing new shares
0:08:27 – The ONWD difference and interpreting the mandate
0:12:23 – Volatility
0:15:29 – Investment themes
0:17:46 – The UK government’s support for business
0:22:05 – A short break
0:22:50 – Springfield Properties
0:28:29 – AudioBoom
0:32:31 – RentGuarantor Holdings
0:36:32 – The cash strategy
0:43:32 – 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.
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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.