Record year for investment trust mergers already
Six mergers between investment trusts completed in 2024, with one in the pipeline.
There have been six mergers between investment trusts so far in 2024, surpassing the previous record of five mergers set in 2021 and equalled in 2022, according to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).
The biggest was the merger between Tritax Big Box REIT and UK Commercial Property REIT in May, creating a combined company with total assets of £5 billion.
In addition to the six completed mergers (see table below), a merger between Henderson European Focus and Henderson EuroTrust is expected to complete in July1.
“A record year for mergers shows that investment trust boards are responding to investors’ preference for larger, more liquid trusts that are easier to trade and cheaper to run.”
Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “A record year for mergers shows that investment trust boards are responding to investors’ preference for larger, more liquid trusts that are easier to trade and cheaper to run. The median investment trust has more than doubled in size from £175 million of total assets ten years ago to £374 million today, excluding VCTs.”
Mergers between investment trusts in 2024
| 2024 | Merged companies (continuing company in bold) | AIC sector |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | Henderson High Income Henderson Diversified Income | UK Equity & Bond Income Debt – Loans & Bonds |
| Feb | JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income JPMorgan Mid Cap | UK Smaller Companies UK All Companies |
| Mar | Fidelity China Special Situations abrdn China | China / Greater China China / Greater China |
| Mar | JPMorgan Global Growth & Income JPMorgan Multi-Asset Growth & Income | Global Equity Income Flexible Investment |
| Mar | STS Global Income & Growth Troy Income & Growth | Global Equity Income UK Equity Income |
| May | Tritax Big Box REIT UK Commercial Property REIT | Property – UK Logistics Property – UK Commercial |
Source: theaic.co.uk (as at 17/06/24)
Number of investment trust mergers by year since 2016
2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mergers | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
Source: theaic.co.uk (as at 17/06/24)
- ENDS -
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Notes to editors
- Link to revised timetable (stock exchange announcement)
- The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) represents a broad range of investment trusts and VCTs, collectively known as investment companies. The AIC’s vision is for closed-ended investment companies to be understood and considered by every investor. The AIC has 330 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £273 billion.
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