Weekly Investment Trusts Podcast - with Colette Ord and Ben Conway (23 Sep 2023)

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, is away in Europe. So, Stuart Watson is stepping in to provide a summary of the week's news and results. Jonathan did get a chance over the last week however, to speak to Colette Ord, infrastructure analysis at Numis Securities, and to conclude his conversation with Ben Conway, head of fund management at Hawksmoor Investment Management. That conversation follows on from their discussion a couple of weeks ago. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free. Section Timestamps: 0:00:44 - This week's guests 0:01:39 - Review of the week 0:02:38 - Corporate news and announcements 0:04:35 - Summary of results 0:13:04 - Money Makers Circle 0:13:25 - Q&A with Colette Ord 0:13:32 - Stabilisation of interest rates and the effect on derating 0:17:53 - Will a revival reward some trusts more than others? 0:21:54 - The lack of new competition 0:23:41 - Differences in discounts 0:25:55 - The renewables sector 0:28:50 - Energy storage trusts 0:31:24 - Digital infrastructure 0:33:19 - Diversified portfolios 0:34:26 - Sector rationalisation 0:35:46 - Q&A with Ben Conway 0:35:51 - Issues with investment trusts 0:39:01 - Are discounts a cyclical phenomenon? 0:41:58 - Alignment of incentives 0:44:50 - Manager disclosures of investments 0:46:59 - Share buybacks and other options 0:55:30 - Should investment trusts use gearing? 0:59:55 - The supply of investment trusts 1:08:42 - Competition to the investment trusts sector 1:11:19 - 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 regular features, the Circle features a profile of the Global Smaller Companies Trust (GSCT), and the latest Editor's Notebook looking at discount opportunities. 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 180 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.