Trust discounts widen in 2021 as post-Covid euphoria is hit by new variants

Positives and negatives

In 2021, equity investment trusts saw their discounts widen by a weighted average of 4.8%, according to figures from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) and Morningstar for Investment Week.

However, when it comes to the individual winners and losers trusts swung drastically in both directions.  Ten years ago, in 2011, the equity investment trust universe saw their discounts widen by a weighted average of 11.1%. Since then the widening has gradually been declining, reaching just 3% for 2020. However, 2021 saw the reversal of that trend, with the average widening ending up higher than that of 2019.  "If we cast our minds back to this time last year there was a fair bit of euphoria around the ‘reopening' trade as Covid vaccines began to be rolled out," explained Sarah Godfr...