Troy’s Global Equity Income trust to cut fees by 18% 

STS Global Income & Growth (STS) −  the £267.6m trust run by Troy Asset Management’s James Harries and Tomasz Boniek − has announced it will be cutting management fees by around 18% later this year.

Back in March 2024, it absorbed Troy Income and Growth after a year of underperformance for its UK quality growth stocks.

One touted benefit of the merger had been an approximately 22% decrease in ongoing charges, with the enlarged company being able to spread its fixed costs over a larger asset base. This took the annual management fee to 0.55% of net assets up to £250m and 0.5% of net assets above £250m . 

Now, the board has agreed to crop fees for the oversight of the £284m portfolio even further. 

With effect from 1 April 2026, the management fee will decrease to 0.40% of net assets and STS’s ongoing charges are expected to reduce by 18% to about 0.66% as a result. 

Chair Sarah Harvey said the board ‘continues to closely monitor the ongoing costs of the company’.

‘We are very pleased with the outcome of the constructive and collaborative discussions we have had with Troy in respect of the ongoing fee arrangements and believe the reduction reflects the ongoing commitment of both parties to ensuring the costs remain competitive for investors,’ she added. 

The news came with a third interim dividend declaration for the year to 31 March of 2.1p per share, an increase of 32.4% on the previous financial year and representing the new higher payout level announced in the last annual report. 

Shares in STS are up 12.9% including dividends reinvested since the merger, though have lost some ground in recent months, down 0.71% over the past year. 

The trust operates a strict discount control mechanism that aims to ensure the shares trade at, or very close to NAV at all times, meaning its shares have lagged no further than 6% over the past five years.