How investment trusts can help navigate the 'known unknowns'

Navigating 'known unknowns'

Investors may need to revert to more ‘unfashionable' strategies in an difficult investment environment, according to Robin Boyle, managing director of the Athelney trust.

In my 50 years of stockbroking and fund management, I can only remember one blot on the investment trust escutcheon: the split-cap scandal of 15 years ago where some managers over-reached themselves in terms of taking on too much borrowing and arranging cross-holdings between trusts.  Such a fine history suggests the philosophy behind investment trusts is sound. This is unsurprising given that investment trusts have a long and distinguished track record of delivering strong returns to investors for almost 150 years. The first investment trust, the Foreign & Colonial, was formed in Lon...