Financial and Investment research publishing business Boring Money has found that UK ownership of investment trusts has dropped to an all-time low, according to its most recent Investment Trust Report.
Less than one in 10 investors (roughly 9%) currently own an investment trust, or around 2.18m people in the UK. This has fallen from roughly 12% over the past year, the lowest level of UK investment trust ownership since Boring Money started tracking this data in 2021.
Fund ownership has also fallen over the same period, down from 23% to 19%, the Boring Money report noted.
Falling trust adoption was particularly pronounced among 35 to 54-year-old investors, with investment down to 7% from 12%. That said, there were some green shoots among younger investors, with those under 35 increasing their adoption of trusts from 7% to 9%.
This has coincided with a surge in ETF ownership, with 20% of investors owning an ETF, according to the report. This contrasts with less than one in 20 investors six years ago.
Holly Mackay, CEO of Boring Money, said: “Saba created upheaval in the industry and highlighted the importance of the retail investor vote.
“This, coupled with declining levels of adoption, is a real call to action for Boards to engage with the customers of tomorrow, and demonstrate the role that trusts have to play in an investor’s portfolio.
“To try to capture some of the growth going to ETF providers, investment trusts have more to do to communicate their benefits to a broader investor base which has higher expectations for simple, compelling messaging and competitive price points.”
See also: AIC: ‘Good reason to be optimistic’ as investment trusts double fundraising in first half
