Edinburgh IT board considers Barnett's position

Three years of underperformance

The board of Edinburgh Investment Trust has admitted to increasing its scrutiny of manager Mark Barnett, following three years of underperformance.

The valuation-focused style of Invesco's Barnett, who learnt his trade under Neil Woodford and still has numerous holdings in common with the now-suspended Woodford Equity Income fund, has struggled for a long time now. The similarities of both managers led Barnett to hit back and claim that his funds were "more diversified and employ a more balanced portfolio approach" than Woodford's. That has not insulated him, though, from the poor performance of companies heavily dependent on the health of the UK economy, of which Barnett has many. Mark Barnett: Four key themes for UK equities...