Money Makers podcast: 18 Jan 2025
In the latest editions of the Money Makers investment trust podcast released this week, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook and winner of the 2024 AIC Best Broadcast Journalist Award, is joined by Richard Stone, chief executive of The Association of Investment Companies (The AIC); Sue Inglis, senior Independent director at Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA); Andrew McHattie, editor of the Investment Trusts Newsletter; and Ewan Lovett-Turner, head of investment trust research at Deutsche Numis.
You can listen to these podcasts in full on the audio players below. Alternatively, you can subscribe via our YouTube channel, and at most podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud; and you can 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.
If you enjoy the Investment Trusts Podcast, you may also find value in joining The Money Makers Circle. This is a membership scheme that 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. This week, as well as the usual features, the Circle features a profile of Rockwood Strategic (RKW). Future profiles include Syncona (SYNC) and TR Property (TRY). Look out for the latest edition of our new expanded weekly subscriber email which summarises Jonathan’s latest thoughts and includes a comprehensive summary of all the latest news. The content of that email is also available for subscribers via the website. A subscription costs £12 a month, or £120 for one year with a two week free trial.
250: Richard Stone
0:00:34 – Looking back at 2024
0:02:52 – Consolidation
0:04:12 – Looking at the average discount
0:06:20 – An existential crisis in alternative assets?
0:08:44 – Activist investors in general
0:12:03 – Saba’s proposals and corporate governance
0:16:12 – A short break
0:17:07 – The retail investor situation
0:21:38 – A Saba fund to target discount opportunities
0:23:36 – A wake-up call for boards
0:24:18 – An update on the cost disclosure issue
0:34:31 – Hopes and aspirations for 2025
0:37:47 – Close
251: Sue Inglis
0:00:48 – Sue’s background
0:01:37 – Awareness of and relationship with Saba Capital
0:04:41 – Saba’s objectives
0:05:57 – The use of swaps to gain voting power
0:09:38 – A short break
0:10:34 – How to succeed in the requisition vote
0:12:49 – Boards’ engagement with private shareholders
0:14:35 – Looking at the possible outcomes of the vote
0:17:52 – Potential flaws in the proposition of investment trusts
0:20:25 – Strategy changes should the vote be won
0:22:32 – Final message to shareholders
0:34:30 – Close
The trust profile of Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA) from 2021 is available to subscribers of the Money Makers Circle.
252: Andrew McHattie and Ewan Lovett-Turner
0:01:16 – Discussing the Saba Webinar and latest developments
0:04:43 – Looking at some issues raised
0:08:17 – Surprising tactics
0:12:05 – Retail investor voting
0:17:27 – A short break
0:18:23 – The market for a listed discount activist fund
0:21:29 – A miscalculation on Herald Investment Trust (HRI)
0:26:23 – What the market says about who may win the votes
0:28:31 – Looking at Baillie Gifford
0:31:42 – Last edition’s interview with Sue Inglis, Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA)
0:32:04 – Thoughts on the year coming up
0:37:20 – Consolidation and a shrinking sector
0:40:39 – Close
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 more than 250 podcasts in the over four 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.