Laxey strikes another blow to Alliance Trust

Laxey Partners has rebuffed Alliance Trust's claim its TER is one of the lowest in its peer group, stating research shows it has almost doubled since the merger with Second Alliance Trust in 2006.

The activists commissioned closed-ended specialist Fund Consultants to scrutinise why the trust is languishing on a wide discount. The firm found the trust's TER is one of the most expensive in its peer group. Fund Consultants added the TER is "misleading" as it only includes parent company Alliance trust PLC, in its calculations. "With respect to the total expense ratio, we have found it appears Alliance is not calculating TER on a consolidated basis, which is the preferred method, but on a company only basis," the report said. "Alliance prides itself as having one of the lowest T...