Market Matters with Annabel Brodie-Smith from the Association of Investment Companies

Our monthly podcast brings you big picture insights from leading investment specialists, exploring the opportunities, challenges and potential threats shaping portfolios.

This month's guest is Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), the industry body set up in 1932 to support and promote investment trusts as well as engaging with them, end investors and the wider financial community.

Annabel has been working for the AIC since 1997, over which time she's seen plenty of changes in the industry, which she discusses, alongside the AIC's dividend heroes initiative and her work with diversity charities. We also get stuck into industry issues such as Saba's activism, the double-counting of investment company costs and the AIC's petition around voting rights. You can sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/716003

00:00 Introduction

00:53 How did you get into the investment company industry?

02:53 Working with finance-related diversity charities

04:22 The big changes in the investment trust industry over the past 30 years

05:41 The role of investment trusts in today's environment

07:05 The income benefits of investment trusts

08:05 How did the dividend hero initiative come about?

09:11 Wide discounts in the investment trust industry

10:49 The failure of Saba's activism

12:39 What can the industry learn from Saba's land grab?

14:27 The AIC's petition on voting rights

17:11 The double-counting of investment trust costs

20:37 What do you envisage the investment trust sector looking like in future?

22:53 Further information

23:08 Risk warning

Our latest market insights: https://www.trustintelligence.co.uk/investor/articles/category/strategy-investor

Please note that this podcast was recorded on 8 May 2025.