Investment trust H1 2026 review
Fundraising more than doubles to £575 million in first half of year.
There were three mergers, three acquisitions and six liquidations of investment trusts during the first six months of 2026, according to data from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC)1. This compares to two mergers, four acquisitions and 11 liquidations in the first half of 2025.
A total of £575 million was raised by existing investment trusts (secondary fundraising) in the first half of 2026, more than double the amount raised in the same period of 2025 (£221 million). The largest amount was raised by Seraphim Space Investment Trust (£137 million) followed by two trusts in the debt sectors, TwentyFour Income Fund and Invesco Bond Income Plus, which raised £98 million and £85 million respectively. In addition to the secondary fundraising of £575 million, a total £742 million of shares were reissued from treasury. There were no investment trust IPOs during the period.
Share buybacks2 totalled £4.10 billion during the first half of the year, compared to £4.77 billion in H1 2025, a fall of 14%. There were also three large tender offers from Impax Environmental Markets (£733 million), BlackRock Smaller Companies (£163 million) and Vietnam Enterprise Investments (£147 million).
Fundraising by existing trusts has more than doubled and the rate of share buybacks, though still historically high, has subsided a little year-on-year. We’ve seen the average investment trust discount at the narrowest levels in nearly four years.
Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
Six investment companies changed their fees to benefit shareholders in the half-year period.
The average investment trust generated a 9.4% return over the first six months of the year, with the best performing sector being Technology & Technology Innovation. The average investment trust discount narrowed from 12.3% to 11.6%, briefly reaching single digits during May, the narrowest level since 2022.
Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “It’s been a busy period for corporate activity, though the number of liquidations has fallen compared to last year. Fundraising by existing trusts has more than doubled and the rate of share buybacks, though still historically high, has subsided a little year-on-year. We’ve seen the average investment trust discount at the narrowest levels in nearly four years. While the sector remains exposed, as ever, to geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, strong fundraising by several popular investment trusts gives us good reason to be optimistic about the future.”
Mergers
Three mergers were completed in the first half of the year, as shown in the table below. In addition, Pacific Assets Trust announced plans to merge with Schroder Asian Total Return, with the latter being the continuing company. This merger is expected to complete by the fourth quarter of the year.
| 2026 | Merged trusts | Continuing trust | AIC sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb | Invesco Global Equity Income Trust / Franklin Global Trust | Invesco Global Equity Income Trust | Global Equity Income |
| Mar | Aberdeen Equity Income Trust / Shires Income | Aberdeen Equity Income Trust | UK Equity Income |
| Apr | BlackRock Smaller Companies / BlackRock Throgmorton | BlackRock Smaller Companies | UK Smaller Companies |
Source: theaic.co.uk
Acquisitions
In addition to the three investment companies acquired during H1 (see table), the acquisition of Bluefield Solar Income Fund by Drax is expected to complete later this month, provided shareholders approve the deal.
| 2026 | Investment trust | Management group | AIC sector | Acquirer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr | Life Science REIT | Ironstone Asset Management | Property – UK Commercial | British Land |
| May | Augmentum Fintech | Augmentum Capital | Financials & Financial Innovation | Verdane Freya XII Investments AB |
| Jun | Amedeo Air Four Plus | Amedeo Air Four Plus | Leasing | LAC 10 |
Source: theaic.co.uk
Management changes
| 2026 | Investment trust | New management group | AIC sector | Previous management group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Global Opportunities Trust | Goodhart Partners | Flexible Investment | (Previously self-managed) |
| Mar | CT Healthcare Trust (previously Bellevue Healthcare Trust) | Columbia Threadneedle | Healthcare & Biotechnology | from Bellevue Asset Management |
| Mar | Murray Income Trust | Artemis Fund Managers | UK Equity Income | from Aberdeen |
| Apr | Parvus Energy Efficiency Trust (previously Aquila Energy Efficiency Trust) | Self-managed | Renewable Energy Infrastructure | from Aquila Capital |
| Apr | Crystal Amber Fund | Tarncourt Asset Management | Flexible Investment | from Crystal Amber Asset Management |
| Jun | The Investment Company | Dowgate Wealth | UK Smaller Companies | from Chelverton Asset Management |
Source: theaic.co.uk. Management group changes which result from a restructure, merger or acquisition at the management group level are not included.
Liquidations
| 2026 | Investment trust | Management group | AIC sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Doric Nimrod Air Three | Doric Partners | Leasing |
| Jan | PRS REIT | Sigma Capital | Property – UK Residential |
| Feb | Smithson | Fundsmith | Global Smaller Companies |
| Feb | Starwood European Real Estate Finance | Starwood European Finance Partners | Property – Debt |
| Mar | abrdn Diversified Income & Growth | Aberdeen | Flexible Investment |
| Jun | Diverse Income Trust | Premier Miton | UK Equity Income |
Notes to editors
- All data in this release excludes 3i and VCTs except total asset figures.
- Excludes tender offers and redemptions.
