Monthly Roundup: manager changes and consolidation, the gold run and opportunities in Asia

Join Jo Groves, Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff and David Brenchley from Kepler Trust Intelligence for a roundup of all the news that matters to investment trust investors in June, brought to you in association with Schroders.

In news, Ryan talks through the changes at Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon (BGS) and MIGO Opportunities (MIGO) and the wider implications for the sector. We also chat about the notable corporate activity in the real estate and European equity sectors, including the merger of Henderson European (HET) with Fidelity’s European stablemate FEV.

Moving onto results, we talk about the key drivers behind Cordiant Digital Infrastructure (CORD)’s recent results, including yet another dividend increase. Next up is Rockwood Strategic (RKW), which continues to outperform against UK small-cap indices and showcase the value of an active, high-conviction approach in the sector.

Moving onto portfolio allocation, David runs the rule over current positioning by wealth managers and asset allocators, including currency risk and alternative assets. Jo picks up the gold theme, looking at its barnstorming performance and whether it’s too late for investors to join the party, as well as a different way of playing the gold theme in Golden Prospect Precious Metals (GPM).

On the podcast front, David shares the key takeaways from our Market Matters podcast with Laura Foll from Janus Henderson and Jo talks through the most compelling opportunities in Asia after her podcast with Doug Ledingham from Pacific Assets (PAC).

Next, David runs through the most bought and sold shares and trusts in the past month, including his thoughts on Scottish Mortgage (SMT), City of London (CTY) and Temple Bar (TMPL).

Finally, Jo puts her own portfolio under the microscope dissecting the winners and the case for the occasional high-octane punt (for thrills as much as returns).

00:00 Introduction

00:40 Developments at Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon

01:47 Manager changes at MIGO

03:05 Consolidation in real estate

04:30 Merger of Henderson & Fidelity European

05:54 Cordiant results

07:38 Rockwood results

09:47 Global asset allocations

12:16 Thoughts on the gold run

14:15 Market Matters podcast with Janus Henderson’s Laura Foll

15:18 Trust Issues podcast with PAC’s Doug Ledingham

16:48 Most popular shares & trusts

18:40 Jo’s portfolio allocations

20:24 Risk warning

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This podcast was recorded on 01/07/2025.