Unicorn's Walls dips into investment company IPOs on Mastertrust fund

Smithson trust

Peter Walls, manager of the £86m Unicorn Mastertrust, has exploited the trend of investment trust launches seen this year by taking part in two IPOs - only the fourth and fifth in his 18 years of running the open-ended fund.

Walls, participated in the recent launches of Fundsmith's Smithson Investment Trust and the AVI Japan Opportunity trust, both of which listed in October. He said: "As an investor who really likes to buy assets for less than their worth the notion of paying a premium to asset value has rarely appealed, yet that is usually the case with IPOs as the issue costs are deducted from the offer price. "A notable exception to this rule is Smithson where the manager is covering costs, so every £10 invested buys £10 of exposure to the investment strategy. It is a logical and pragmatic extension t...