UPDATE: In April 2026, Joe Faraday succeeded Stephen Paice and Chris Davies as the trust's portfolio manager. The growth focus of the mandate is to continue "whilst aiming to deliver a more diversified portfolio that captures growth opportunities across a wider range of sectors."
Baillie Gifford European Growth (ticker: BGEU) was launched in 1972 as F&C Eurotrust. It was run by Foreign & Colonial up until early 2010, before Edinburgh Partners was appointed in its place, and the company became known as The European Investment Trust. It outperformed in the first part of the 2010s but th...
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UPDATE: This trust was delisted in September 2026, with shareholders offered a cash exit, a rollover into a new open-ended fund, or a rollover into JPMorgan European Growth & Income (JEGI).
European Opportunities (ticker: EOT) was launched in 2000 and has been managed since then by Alex Darwall, who favours a concentrated portfolio of quality/growth companies. The trust was part of the Jupiter stable until 2019, building up a phenomenal performance record with an NAV return of nearly 13% a year from its IPO to May 2019, versus 5% a year for European markets. Darwall left Jupiter in 2019 t...
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UPDATE: After its co-managers departed, this trust was merged into Fidelity European (FEV) in September 2025.
Henderson European Trust (HET) was launched in 1947 and up until earlier this month was known as Henderson European Focus. HET has just been combined with Henderson EuroTrust, with which it had a significant portfolio overlap and similar recent performance, creating a larger vehicle with net assets of around £700m. The two managers are Tom O'Hara and Jamie Ross and it will hold around 40 of Europe's global champions, defined as "large, established and well-managed businesses operating...
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UPDATE: In March 2026, Stefan Gries, the trust's lead manager, departed for health reasons. Benjamin Moore took over as lead manager, supported by Brian Hall, who remained as co-manager.
BlackRock Greater Europe (ticker: BRGE) was launched in 2004 to hold a concentrated growth-focused European portfolio along with limited exposure to developing European markets. The main method of discount control has historically been semi-annual tender offers of up to 20% of the trust's shares at a 2% discount to NAV although these are at the board's discretion and none have been held since late 2018. Stefa...
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UPDATE: This trust took over Henderson European in September 2025, and it now has total assets of around £2.5bn and a market cap of around £2bn. Its NAV total return was +18% for 2023, +1% for 2024, +16% for 2025, and +6% in the first half of 2026, lagging the European market over the past couple of years. Sam Morse is due to retire in October 2027. Alexander Laing will join in November 2026 to work alongside Morse’s co-manager, Marcel Stötzel, to ensure a smooth transition.
Fidelity European Trust (ticker: FEV) was launched in 1991 and was managed by Anthony Bolton for its first decade. It's...
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UPDATE: This trust was delisted in the summer of 2026, with shareholders offered a cash exit or a rollover into a new open-ended fund run by Darwall or JPMorgan European Growth & Income.
After a long period of outstanding returns, Alexander Darwall's European Opportunities Trust has struggled for the last eighteen months. The demise of Wirecard, once its largest holding, did a lot of damage both financially and reputationally, but the returns from the rest of its portfolio have lagged as well. The trust is trading at a double-digit discount, a level not seen since the Greek financial cris...
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