Shareholders have voted against Saba Capital Management’s board change proposals at the Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust general meeting.

This latest defeat means that all proposals were rejected by shareholders at the seven general meetings requisitioned by Saba, with the previous six meetings all resulting in rejections of the proposals.

The proposals would have seen the current independent boards replaced with just two new directors, followed by a replacement of the investment manager and a new investment mandate.

“Once again, shareholders have emphatically rejected Saba’s proposals,” said Association of Investment Companies (AIC) chief executive, Richard Stone.

“It’s tremendous to see shareholders come out and vote in such numbers and it’s testament to how much they value their investment trust.”

However, Saba has since announced its intention to requisition general meetings at four of its UK-listed investment trusts: CQS Natural Resources Growth & Income, The European Smaller Companies Trust, Middlefield Canadian Income Trust and Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund.

“Shareholders are being asked to choose between an investment trust, with its long-term approach and structural advantages, and an unknown open-ended alternative,” Stone noted.

“They will need to give this careful consideration and vote accordingly.

“There are lessons to learn from these votes. It was only possible to achieve such high turnouts because of an unprecedented campaign from the companies, the industry, platforms and the media.

“We must make sure that shareholders are always informed and empowered to vote, rather than relying on goodwill and ad hoc efforts.

“That’s why we’re launching a campaign to change company law, ‘My share, my vote’, to ensure that voting rights and information are always passed on to shareholders.”

Stone added that boards had been rising to the challenge during this period of ‘deep discounts’, with the AIC seeing record levels of activity, such as share buybacks, mergers and strategic reviews.

“More than ever, boards are focused on discount management, their trust’s place in the market, and communication with existing and new shareholders,” he continued.

“Independent oversight by boards is integral to the success of investment trusts and their focus on long-term objectives for the benefit of all shareholders, as opposed to short-term trading.”

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