221: Weekly Investment Trusts Podcast - with Andrew Ross and Dean Buckley (27 Jul 2024)

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Stuart Watson fills in for Jonathan Davis who is away on holiday, to provide the latest news and events from the past week. Before going away however, Jonathan did get the opportunity to speak with Dean Buckley and Andrew Ross, chairmen of the Alliance Trust (ATST) and Witan Investment Trust (WTN) respectively - two trusts which are in the process of a merger. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free. Section Timestamps: 0:00:39 - This week's guests 0:01:00 - Review of the week 0:01:49 - Summary of results 0:03:40 - Corporate news and announcements 0:05:09 - Money Makers Circle 0:05:38 - Q&A with Dean Buckley and Andrew Ross 0:06:30 - Witan's path to the strategic review and the deal with Alliance 0:09:55 - Alliance's motivation for the deal 0:12:16 - Bringing in the discount 0:14:01 - Difficulties in delivering a distinctive approach in a volatile world 0:16:41 - Risks of losing money from the merger? 0:19:00 - Discount control and gearing 0:21:30 - Pressures faced by the investment trusts sector 0:27:07 - The UK market 0:32:45 - Dividends 0:35:44 - The cash offer 0:38:56 - General state of affairs 0:40:45 - Close Trusts mentioned (with tickers) include: Taylor Maritime (TMI), MIGO Opportunities (MIGO), Invesco Asia (IAT), BlackRock Throgmorton (THRG), Herald (HRI), Law Debenture (LWDB), Alliance Trust (ATST), Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), JPMorgan European Discovery (JEDT), Bluefield Solar Income (BSIF), Baillie Gifford Japan (BGFD), AVI Global (AGT), Pershing Square Holdings (PSH). 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 Henderson European Trust (HET). Future profiles include Oryx International Growth (OIG) and Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN). Look out for the latest edition of our new expanded weekly subscriber email which summarises Jonathan's latest thoughts including some of his most recent trust purchases, and includes a comprehensive summary of all the latest news. The content of that email is also available for subscribers via the website. 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 more than 220 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.