James Anderson, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust
Baillie Gifford’s James Anderson has one of the most consistent records in the investment trust universe. The manager’s £1.7bn Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust is top-quartile over three, five and 10 years.
According to data from FE Analytics, over the last decade the manager has returned 138 per cent compared with 92 per cent from his peer group composite.
Performance of fund vs sector over 10-yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Simon Elliott, an analyst at investment trust specialist Winterflood Securities, says that Anderson is the first name that comes to mind when he thinks of long-term winners in the closed-ended space.
"He has an out-and-out unconstrained growth approach which means that while performance has been very strong over the years it has also been volatile," he explained.
"Anderson runs money with a real vision of the long-term which is why you’ll see him taking positions in technology companies and emerging market regions."
The adventurous approach means that the fund is likely to underperform in falling markets. Our data shows that the manager had a tricky 2008, losing 41 per cent of shareholders’ money. The manager himself, however, thinks that investors are being too cautious.
"When you pick up a paper, whether it’s the Times, the Mirror or the Guardian, one gets the impression that the world is ending," he told FE Trustnet earlier this month.
"In many ways it’s because of what we’ve gone through recently – most of us had a terrible experience in 2008. However, I feel compelled to quarrel this pessimism."
Lord Jacob Rothschild, RIT Capital Partners
The Rothschild family of investment bankers needs little introduction. The name is synonymous with the industry and they have a record of growing capital which goes back to the 18th century.
The family helped finance the Napoleonic War, the industrial revolution, the construction of the railways and the Suez Canal. The RIT Capital Partners investment trust, whose chairman is Lord Jacob Rothschild, represents the continuation of the family business in the UK today.
Elliott says that investors who buy shares in the trust have history on their side.
"It’s a tight-knit management team which runs the trust with a long-term capital appreciation approach," he explained. "The fund isn’t likely to swing around with the markets chasing short-term returns, instead it incorporates currency plays and property positions."
"It’s a great story," he added. "Investors can put money into a fund which is growing as a part of the Rothschild family’s immense fortune."
Our data shows that the long-term focus has helped the £1.76bn RIT Capital Partners investment company deliver consistent second-quartile performance over the long-term.
Over the last 10 years this has led to an overall return of 178 per cent. By comparison, the average Global Growth investment trust has made 92 per cent over the period.
John Pennink, British Empire Securities & General Trust
Asset Value Investors’ John Pennink runs the British Empire Securities & General Trust with a focus on finding companies trading significantly below what he considers to be their net asset value.
"There’s a strong value approach behind the trust," explained Elliott. "This has led to impressive performance over the long-term. It’s had a difficult couple of years and this has seen the discount widen to around 9 per cent."
Our data shows that the investment trust has returned 141 per cent over the last decade while the average fund in the Global Growth sector has returned 92 per cent.
The discount might make it a more attractive proposition than another investor favourite, the Mid Wynd International Investment Trust, which currently trades at a premium of about 3.5 per cent.