Wealth managers ‘more positive’ about investment trusts year-on-year

Wealth managers are more positive about investment trusts than they were in 2025, Research in Finance has revealed.

The firm’s survey of 158 discretionary fund managers (DFMs) who use trusts found that 28 per cent expect to be writing more investment trust business over the next six months, with nine per cent expecting to write less.

This equates to a net score of +19 per cent, which is up from +15 per cent last year, and is close to the all-time high net score of +20 per cent recorded in 2022 and 2024.

Of those who said they would be using investment trusts more, the key reasons were the same as last year, including attractive discounts (56 per cent), the strong performance of certain trusts (51 per cent), and to increase exposure to specialist areas (36 per cent).

The fourth and fifth most commonly cited factors behind improved sentiment were improving liquidity of certain trusts (29 per cent) and management fee cuts (29 per cent). The percentages of respondents naming each of these factors were the highest since 2019.

The investment trust sector expected to perform best over the next 12 months is emerging markets, with 44 per cent of DFMs tipping the sector, followed by 37 per cent who favoured technology and 32 per cent who liked the US.

Research director of the Association of Investment Companies, Nick Britton, 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, concluded: “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.”

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