CT UK High Income, one of the highest-yielding UK equity income trusts, has a new portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle, with Philip Webster stepping back after six years in charge.

David Moss, head of European Equities Research Strategy and manager of the open-ended £46m CT Select UK Equity Income  and €38m (£33m) CT (Lux) European Growth & Income funds, has taken over with immediate effect having been a supporting manager on the £115m trust. 

Moss (pictured above) was co-head of global equities at BMO Global Asset Management before its acquisition by Columbia Threadneedle two years ago.

Webster, who had run the closed-end fund since April 2017, remains with the group and its 40-strong pan-European team and continues to manage the £236m CT Select European Equity  open-ended Ucits fund.

CT UK High Income, formerly known as Investors Capital Trust until its reconstruction in 2007, has three share classes: the 7%-yielding A shares (CHI ); the zero-yielding B shares (CHIB ), which distribute capital instead of income; and unit shares (CHIU ), which combine three A and one B shares and yield over 5%.

In the past five years, the A shares have disappointed, underperforming most rivals and a struggling UK stock market. Shareholders have received a total return of 3.8% against a sector average of 17.2% and 15.3% from the FTSE All-Share index. The A shares stand 10% below net asset value compared with an average one-year discount of 8%.

The board thanked Webster (pictured above) for his commitment and said it believed Moss was well suited to delivering the trust’s objective of generating attractive returns via dividends and/or capital growth.