What can we learn from 19th century investors?

INVESTMENT DINOSAURS

Gervais Williams, managing director at MAM Funds, examines the fund ‘dinosaur' of investment trusts and the lessons that can still be learned from the past.

In the sophisticated financial world, investment trusts are often seen as something of a dinosaur from the nineteenth century. In particular, they are sometimes difficult to buy or sell in large size, with the added disadvantage that the share price fluctuates, often quite widely versus the value of the underlying investments. Unitised trusts have grown to become far more popular for many investors in part because of this. These differentials imply there must be some very good reasons for some investors to persist with the old-fashioned investment trust structure. The key lies in their a...