Investment Trust Model Portfolio
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PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL Long-term investing Investment Trust Model Portfolio Long-termism shapes our relationships and our investments Long-term investing Introduction This document outlines our views on investment trusts. It aims to present an example of our model portfolio construction process for clients with best-in-class investment trusts that align with our investment philosophy. A philosophy of conviction, long-term, patient capital, and long-only real investing. Investment trusts are closed-ended investment vehicles (effectively plc companies) that have a secondary market for their shares via a listing. There are over 300 listed in the UK. Whilst many retail investors continue to see their appeal, investment trusts have become less popular with wealth managers and IFAs. This phenomenon is down to a range of factors, such as: OEICs and UCITS being pushed by sales and marketing teams more to wealth managers and intermediaries, alongside pre-RDR commercial reasons; OEICs as a better structure for increasing firm’s AUM and therefore investment firms’ fees irrespective of performance, and Investment trusts being increasingly seen as an investment backwater, more esoteric and less relevant for client portfolios. At Binary Capital, our long term and high-conviction philosophy aligns well with several investment trusts. We find several reasons why we feel comfort in investing in investment trusts for clients which we discuss further in this paper. Active investing for the long term. At Binary Capital, we are active investors. We look to work closely with you and your team to educate clients around genuine active investment management and the benefits of such style of investing. We are a whole of market service provider working only with best in class fund managers and investment providers. Reasons to include investment trusts in client portfolios We discuss some distinct advantages with using closed-ended investment vehicles as opposed to open-ended vehicles, these include: Permanent capital Investment trusts are fixed pools of permanent capital and can therefore take a longer-term view on investments. There is a liquid secondary market for the shares, listed on a recognised stock exchange. Closed-ended funds do not suffer from the threat of redemptions by investors unlike their open- ended counterparts. Therefore, have less concern about short-term market movements and can make longer term high conviction investments. This longer-term thinking and permanent capital allocation should have a positive impact on performance. Investment in unlisted equities The unlisted investment markets are an exciting and growing area of global capital allocation. Many firms are delaying (or not) being listed, instead securing alternative funding through other channels, such as private equity. This has been a persistent trend in capital markets over the past 10 years. At BCIM we would never be comfortable buying a UCITS or OEIC that invests in unlisted securities, neither do we invest directly into private equity funds (they tend to be illiquid, opaque and often expensive). Using investment trusts we can leverage exposure to otherwise inaccessible, unlisted investments opportunities. The investment trust structure provides clients with a liquid vehicle to gain exposure to both liquid and illiquid investment opportunities. Avoid issue of liquidity traps Further to the point above, larger investment trusts with an active secondary market offer investors intraday liquidity. This removes the risks of a “run on the fund,” such as what happened at Woodford Investment Management in 2019, and other investment firms previously. The share price of an investment trust may trade at a discount or premium to the underlying net asset value (NAV), but the point is, there is liquidity to exit if one needs to exit a position. The reverse is also true, if one needs to purchase a position in an investment trust one can do so via a listed exchange. Liquidity is often undervalued by investors. Liquidity is a factor that is of high importance to us at Binary Capital. Leverage Managers of investment trusts can borrow to fund investment positions and maximise their conviction in investment ideas (often referred to as ‘gearing’). This offers the potential for greater returns for investors. The investment trust mandate can therefore provide more flexibility in generating enhanced returns for clients. More independent oversight Investment trusts are listed investment companies consisting of a Chairman, an independent board of directors, and so on. They will hold the investment manager to account, representing the interest of the shareholders to ensure the trusts objectives are always met. If there is sustained under- performance of the investment trust against a pre-determined, relevant benchmark then the board can replace the investment manager or investment house. Essentially there is ongoing independent scrutiny of the investment managers and their investment strategy. Fees tend to be very competitive Many of the best investment trusts charge relatively low fees for the quality of investment management and overall exposure offered. For example, exposure to private markets without having to pay private equity type fees. Being able to leverage investment ideas without having to pay hedge fund type fees. A bespoke proposition In the following section we highlight and deconstruct two of our best ideas from the investment trust universe. Following this, we illustrate an example risk managed investment trust model portfolio. A simulated backtest is offered to demonstrate the historic returns potential of such a strategy and other relevant analytics. What we look for Alignment with our investment philosophy Considerations when High conviction, growth oriented with a long-term focus. A long-term track record constructing that can demonstrate all of this. Managers that do not focus on benchmarks and model portfolios have an absolute return mindset and philosophy - with naturally a high active share. Investment trusts where we believe • By investing in transparent, long- managers have an edge – leveraging their term focused investment trusts, flexible capital structure. we have greater control over the overall asset allocation of a model portfolio – asset class, Experienced team geographic and sector allocations. We look closely at the ‘parent’ company behind the trust. We pay close attention to their track record and the resources • We allocate with top-down asset available to them and their investment allocation in mind but that is not team. Experienced investment managers the driver of the allocation. The that have developed a high level of driver is the investment thesis expertise in their respective style and and strategy of the trust. We asset class focus. allocate more towards managers that we have the highest conviction in. Low fees, transparency and liquidity • We take careful consideration in Lower fees, and fully transparent in their overlap between managers in holdings. We require full visibility on the their holdings. A long-term, underlying holdings of the investment growth, conviction style of trust. investing can be executed by managers differently. We look to Large in size - preferably above £250m hold managers that are non- trust size, and managers that focus on consensus and where we share a large capitalised companies in the main. similar investment philosophy. We require an active secondary market for the investment trusts shares. We need liquidity. term relationship with Alibaba (long term shareholders). Ant has deal of information about 1. The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (SMIT) provides "China is now home to an entrepreneurial clients with an opportunity to gain active exposure to high fury that leads to the creation of great growth public and private companies at a low fee of just individual businesses." 0.37%. The managers take a bottom-up, stock picking approach with a high conviction style (the top 30 holdings Co-PM, James Anderson account for around 80% of total assets). Sector: Financial Services SMITs long-term growth focus has exposure that will benefit Position: £210m (c.2.0%) from the converging narratives of technology and healthcare. The rapid advancements in availability and scope of data Ant Financial Services Group is the sister analytics has the potential to transform the healthcare sector company of the ecommerce giant Alibaba and over the next decade and beyond. SMITs managers have was established in 2014. They are the sole operator of Ali Pay; an online payment service identified quality investments opportunities aligned with this launched in 2004 which has evolved into the growth story. They are not only invested in global gene world’s largest payments and lifestyle platform. sequencing company Illumina but also in private companies Based on their previous funding round are such as Grail, Tempus Labs & HeartFlow. worth an estimated $150bn. As a result of the long-term relationship Scottish Mortgage had built with Alibaba, they were able to invest in the Ordinarily, industry leading private companies would have private company in the early stages. At the time undertaken an initial public offering. However, as capital is of writing, Ant Financial is seeking a dual listing more freely available and less commoditised, privately on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets thereby potentially providing such a private managed firms can seek out patient capital to help with their holding an