228: Weekly Investment Trusts Podcast - with Craig Baker and Duncan MacInnes (21 Sep 2024)

In this week’s edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook and winner of the 2024 AIC Best Broadcast Journalist Award, reviews the week in the markets and speaks to Craig Baker, chair of the investment committee at the Alliance Trust (ATST), and Duncan MacInnes, manager of the Ruffer Investment Company (RICA). Section Timestamps: 0:00:36 - AIC Best Broadcast Journalist Award 0:01:18 - Money Makers Circle 0:03:02 - This week’s guests 0:03:48 - Review of the week 0:05:28 - Podcast format changes 0:05:44 - Q&A with Craig Baker and Duncan MacInnes 0:05:44 - The Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates 0:08:14 - A return to a Goldilocks environment? 0:10:00 - Confidence in the returns from the equity market 0:12:02 - Summarising Ruffer's latest results 0:14:45 - AI and the Magnificent Seven 0:23:26 - The US election 0:29:19 - The US vs the rest of the world 0:32:30 - The UK equity market 0:35:50 - Impressions of the new government 0:38:18 - Cost disclosure reporting 0:40:04 - The Alliance Trust and Witan merger 0:43:08 - The discount on the trusts. 0:45:57 - Final comments 0:48:02 - Close 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 usual features, the Circle features a profile of abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth (AUSC). Future profiles include Global Opportunities Trust (GOT) and Bellevue Healthcare (BBH). 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. 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 our nearly 230 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.