Saba has written another open letter to its fellow Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWI) shareholders as the long-running battle over control rumbles on.
In the letter, the firm said it is speaking to shareholders directly because they “deserve clarity, not the misinformation that EWI chairman Jonathan Simpson-Dent has been distributing in an effort to save his position”.
“This is the same chairman who presided over a five-year loss that ranked EWI dead last, 66th out of 66, among its peers in a period when global equity markets delivered substantial gains,” Saba continued.
“His goal is not to protect your investment. It is to protect his directorship. In this letter, we provide you with the facts we believe he would prefer you not to have.”
Saba added in the event shareholders elect a newly constituted, independent board at EWI’s AGM on 30 April, it intends to submit itself for consideration as EWI’s next investment manager.
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If granted the mandate, EWI would be repositioned as a portfolio predominantly composed of UK-listed investment trusts, with a global mandate.
Management fees would not exceed the current structure charged by existing manager, Baillie Gifford, Saba said.
They would consist of a tiered annual fee of 0.75% on the first £50m of net assets, 0.65% on the next £200m and 0.55% on the remaining assets. This would remain in place for a minimum of 18 months.
Saba also detailed various other commitments on liquidity, tender process, discount management, continuation votes and governance.
EWI’s board is yet to respond to this latest letter.
