In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, talks to Max King, the market and investment trust commentator and former Investec fund manager. Jonathan also talks to Rhys Davies, manager of the Invesco Bond Income Plus Investment Trust (BIPS); the first half of that discussion can be heard in the podcast, with the full interview available on the website or via podcast channels. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free. Section Timestamps: 00:44 - Review of the week 04:58 - This week's guest 05:38 - Money Makers Circle 06:24 - Corporate announcements and results 16:34 - Q&A with Max King 17:09 - The markets at the moment 19:01 - Abrdn mergers 20:29 - Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund (GARS) 21:20 - Regulation and trust reports 23:01 - Private equity sector 27:14 - Commercial property sector 30:19 - Alternatives sector 32:02 - Equity sector 34:20 - Defensive funds 37:28 - Looking forward 40:32 - Q&A with Rhys Davies (Part 1) 41:11 - The last eighteen months in the bond markets 43:11 - Has the interest rate and bond yield cycle peaked? 45:24 - Explaining a soft landing 47:31 - Portfolio yield and potential total return 50:04 - Assessing high yield bonds 54:34 - Managing a bond portfolio 59:50 - Close Trusts mentioned this week (with tickers): Abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth Trust (AUSC), Atlantis Japan Growth (AJG), Nippon Active Value Fund (NAVF), Pershing Square Holdings (PSH), BlackRock World Mining (BRWM), Princess Private Equity (PEY), CT Private Equity Trust (CTPT), JPMorgan US Smaller Companies (JUSC), Cordiant Digital Infrastructure (CORD), NB Private Equity (NBPE), GCP Infrastructure (GCP), Home REIT (HOME), ThomasLloyd Energy Impact (TLEI), The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG), 3i Infrastructure (3IN), HICL Infrastructure (HICL), International Public Partnerships (INPP), Blackstone Loan Financing (BGLF), NB Global Monthly Income (NBMI), Pantheon International (PIN), 3i Group (III), HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE), Literacy Capital (BOOK), Oakley Capital Investments (OCI), HG Capital Trust (HGT), TR Property Investment Trust (TRY), Ediston Property Investment Company (EPIC), BBGI Global Infrastructure (BBGI), Capital Gearing Trust (CGT), Ruffer Investment Company (RICA), Personal Assets Trust (PNL). If you enjoy the weekly podcast, you may also find value in joining The Money Makers circle. This is a membership scheme that offers listeners to the podcast an opportunity, in return for a modest monthly or annual subscription, to receive additional premium content, including interviews, performance data, market/portfolio reviews and regular extracts from the editor's notebook. This week, as well as the regular features, the Circle features a profile of the Invesco Perpetual UK Smaller Companies Trust (IPU), and a conversation with Graham Harrison, executive chairman of Asset Risk Consultants. For more information about the Money Makers circle, please visit money-makers.co/membership-join. Membership helps to cover the cost of producing the weekly investment trust podcast, which will continue to be free. We are very grateful for your continued support and the enthusiastic response to more than 170 podcasts since launch. You can find more information, including relevant disclosures, at www.money-makers.co. Please note that this podcast is provided for educational purposes only and nothing you hear should be considered as investment advice. Our podcasts are also available on the Association of Investment Companies website, www.theaic.co.uk. Produced by Ben Gamblin.