Trust boards must remember smaller shareholders for survival

Investors should prepare to"stand up and be counted"

The democratic structure of most investment companies - where each share entitles the holder to a vote on matters affecting the company - is one of the key features setting closed-ended funds apart from their open-ended counterparts.

However, as voters on both sides of the Atlantic have had reason to reflect in recent years, the exercise of one's democratic rights does not always result in the outcome one might have desired. As well as offering shareholders a vote on the appointment of directors, discount management policies, dividends and the like, many investment companies have a continuation vote, either every year or at longer intervals.  IW Podcast: JPMAM's Crinage on the changing profile of investment trust shareholders This in itself can act as a means of limiting the discount to net asset value (NAV) at ...