Persistently wide discounts and a rise in activism are driving a period of feverish activity in the London-listed investment companies sector, with the mood sometimes approaching a sense of crisis. 

Citywire asked seven fund managers, including Finsbury Growth and Income (FGT ) stockpicker Nick Train, what they think the future of the investment trust sector looks like. 

‘I would say to people considering where to allocate their precious savings, the investment trust industry looks more attractive than ever right now,’ said Train. 

In video interviews at Frostrow’s London Investment Seminar last week, most of the seven investment trust managers acknowledged the industry does face challenges amid a cyclical downturn.

Although, there are hopes of light at the end of the tunnel and progress on issues such as cost disclosure. 

‘We’ve definitely got to hold our nerve,’ said Custodian Property Income REIT (CREI ) manager Richard Shepherd-Cross, who questioned the ability of a handful of large shareholders to wind up a trust like PRS REIT (PRSR ). 

Others trusts and managers featured in the video are:

• Richard Aston of CC Japan Income & Growth Trust (CCJI )
• Tim Levene of Augmentum Fintech (AUGM ) 
• Kartik Kumar of Aurora UK Alpha (ARR )
• Carlos Hardenberg of Mobius Investment Trust (MMIT ) 
• and Geoff Hsu of Biotech Growth Trust (BIOG )