Wealth managers and discretionary fund managers are more positive on the prospects for investment trusts than they were last year, according to research commissioned by the AIC published today (28 September 2026).
The survey, which is conducted annually by Research in Finance, comprises answers from 158 DFMs who already use trusts in their portfolios.
Some 28% expect to be writing more investment trusts business over the next six months, while just 9% expect to be writing less. This net score of 19% is a four percentage-point increase from last year’s result of 15%, and is near an all-time high score for the survey of 20%, seen in 2022 and 2024.
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Key reasons cited for using investment trusts more include attractive discounts (56%), strong performance (51%) and to increase exposure to specialist areas of the market (36%). Elsewhere, 29% said improving liquidity has bolstered sentiment – a 7 percentage-point increase from last year – and 29% cited management fee cuts – a 14 percentage-point rise compared to 2025.
While attractive discounts were the key driver behind improved sentiment this year, the average discount among investment trusts has shrunk from 14% to 11% over the last 12 months, and this has been reflected in the data. While discounts were mentioned by 56% of DFMs who are positive on trusts, this is a 12 percentage-point fall compared to 68% last year.
However, strong performance has jumped by 12 percentage points from 39% to 51%, marking the highest percentage of DFMs citing this characteristic since 2019.
In terms of sector, most DFMs tipped emerging market trusts to achieve the best performance over the next 12 months at 44%, followed by technology at 37% and the US at 32%.
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Commenting on the results, Nick Britton (pictured), research director of the 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, added: “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.”
