The investment trust industry has experienced six mergers in the first six months of 2024, already outpacing any of the previous full calendar years.
The previous record was set in 2021 at five mergers, seen for a second time in 2022. In comparison, from 2016 to 2020, there were seven mergers in total.
A seventh merger for 2024 is expected to complete in July between Henderson European Focus and Henderson Europe Trust.
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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.”
The largest merger to occur this year was between Tritax Big Box REIT and UK Commercial Property REIT, creating a combined £5bn trust.
Other mergers this year include Henderson High Income with Henderson Diversified Income in January; JP Morgan UK Smaller Companies with JPMorgan Mid Cap in February; and Fidelity China Special Situations with Abrdn China, JPMorgan Global Growth & Income with JP Morgan Multi-Asset Growth & Income, and STS Global Income & Growth with Troy Income & Growth in March.
