Midas steps up spat with Charter board

Midas Investment Management has stepped up its public spat with the board of the Charter European trust, labelling its voting system undemocratic and requisitioning an EGM on 8 November.

Midas, which has a 25% stake in the £43m Charter European trust, is opposing the reconstruction of the portfolio, which is managed by Allianz Global Investors’ Neil Dwane. In August, Charter’s board announced an overhaul of the trust in a bid to combat weak performance, as its net asset value has fallen 22% in the past year. The board said it was looking to either liquidate the fund or roll the assets into the £257m Jupiter European Opportunities fund, run by Alex Darwall. However, Midas said it will only accept the proposal if its own portfolio, the Manchester & London investment tr...