Wealth managers more positive about investment trusts than in 2025
Driven by performance, fee cuts and progress on cost disclosure.
Wealth managers are more positive about investment trusts than they were last year, according to new research among 158 discretionary fund managers (DFMs) who use trusts. The study was conducted by Research in Finance1.
Some 28% of those surveyed expect to be writing more investment trust business over the next six months, with 9% expecting to write less – equating to a net score of +19%. This was up from +15% last year and is close to the all-time high net score of +20% seen in 2022 and 2024.
The investment trust landscape has been changing rapidly, with the average trust becoming larger and more liquid. This research suggests that these changes have been welcomed by wealth managers, who mention stronger performance, better liquidity and lower fees as reasons for using trusts more.
Nick Britton, Research Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
Source: Research in Finance
Reasons for improved sentiment
Among those who said they would be using investment trusts more, the key reasons were the same as last year: attractive discounts (cited by 56% of respondents), the strong performance of certain trusts (51%), and to increase exposure to specialist areas (36%).
However, the importance of these factors has shifted. Discounts were mentioned by 56% of respondents intending to write more investment trust business, down from 68% last year, while strong performance was mentioned by 51%, up from 39% a year ago and the highest percentage of respondents citing this factor since 2019.
The average investment trust discount has narrowed from 14% a year ago to 11% today, while the average investment trust has returned 17% over the past 12 months2.
The fourth and fifth most commonly cited factors behind improved sentiment were improving liquidity of certain trusts (29%, up from 22% last year) and management fee cuts (29%, up from 15%). The percentages of respondents naming each of these factors were the highest since 2019.
Source: Research in Finance. Base: all respondents who expect to be writing more business in investment trusts over the next six months.
One respondent said: “I'd use trusts across all portfolio types – they offer terrific value and a strong shareholder return profile. There's also good optionality and variety across asset management firms and geography.”
Another mentioned that positive progress on resolving the cost disclosure issue had caused a shift in sentiment at their firm in favour of investment trusts. “The change in FCA reporting of OCFs on trusts is huge – [it’s caused a] big reallocation away from funds,” they said.
Hot sectors
The investment trust sector expected to perform best over the next 12 months is emerging markets, with 44% of DFMs tipping the sector, followed by 37% who favoured technology and 32% who liked the US.
Nick Britton, Research Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “The investment trust landscape has been changing rapidly, with the average trust becoming larger and more liquid. This research suggests that these changes have been welcomed by wealth managers, who mention stronger performance, better liquidity and lower fees as reasons for using trusts more. Although discounts have narrowed, they’re still a key attraction for those looking to use trusts more in the coming months.”
Oliver Crawford, Research Manager at Research in Finance, said: “While wealth managers have long acknowledged the value of investment trusts, concerns about liquidity and cost disclosure have been important barriers to further use. Our research shows that wealth managers are becoming more positive on both these fronts.”
- ENDS -
Notes to editors
- The UK Investment Trust Study (UKITS) from Research in Finance is an annual survey of DFMs, also known as wealth managers, who are investment trust buyers. The research is funded by a consortium of asset managers and the AIC. The fieldwork was conducted between 22 May and 10 July 2026.
- Source: theaic.co.uk / Morningstar. Average investment trust discount ex 3i as at 30/09/25 and 25/09/26. Average investment trust performance ex 3i as at 25/09/26.
