A commitment from the board exists to buy back shares if the discount extends beyond 5% under the proviso of ‘normal market conditions’, however, the trust has traded at a wider discount than that – notably in 2015 when China’s ‘wobble’ saw the discount reach out into double figures, and last year after the Brexit vote when it stretched to its widest point under Schroders’ tenure (15%). The board is under considerable pressure to control discount volatility, given the absolute return nature of the mandate and the need to appeal to investors with an absolute return mindset, but in the past its small size has made it difficult to buy back shares. Chairman David Brief spoke to Kepler Trust Intelligence last year and explained that the board’s strategy was to focus first on generating the performance needed to put positive pressure on demand for the trust’s shares. Performance has improved since then and the trust moved to a premium in Q3 last year, and has been issuing shares (from treasury) since then, increasing its size by almost £100m since our last review.