Artemis Alpha trust board proposes raft of changes; Dodd's co-manager Paterson to retire

Performance fee dropped

The board of the £124m Artemis Alpha investment trust has proposed a number of changes including a new charging structure following a strategic review, while co-manager Adrian Paterson - who has run the trust for nearly ten years with John Dodd - has announced he will retire from fund management at the end of the year.

The changes come after the Artemis Alpha trust has suffered a tough period for performance in recent years, having been hit by a high exposure to oil and gas stocks in 2014-15. It has returned only 12% over the last five years to 10 April, significantly underperforming its FTSE All Share benchmark return of 42% and its AIC UK All Companies sector average of 50%, according to FE. It is currently trading on a 20% discount. As a result, the board has completed a shareholder consultation ahead of the trust's continuation vote due to be held in October, and has proposed a raft of changes, ...