Investment trusts: Chicken and egg

LEADER

Lack of adviser interest keeps platforms from listing trusts.

Platforms refusing to list investment trusts thus far say they will only do so when there is enough demand – but that will not happen until they take the plunge themselves. In early 2012, the three largest adviser platforms (Cofunds, Fidelity FundsNetwork and Skandia) kick-started a race to list investment trusts and ETFs. Two years on, it appears to have turned into a marathon, not a sprint. Cofunds announced a pilot with Barclays Stockbrokers in January 2012 that aimed to provide the platform’s clients with all the functions of a stockbroking service, including ITs and ETFs. In M...