Join Jo Groves, Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff and David Brenchley from Kepler Trust Intelligence for a roundup of all the news that matters to investment trust investors in January, brought to you in association with Schroders.
In the news, David talks through what the recent changes in government policy could have on Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) and how this changes their dividend outlook. Elsewhere Ryan runs the rule over some corporate activity, including the proposed combination of Aberdeen Equity Income (AEI) and Shires Income (SHRS) as well as a sizeable tender offer at Vietnam Enterprise (VEIL).
Meanwhile, the Saba saga rumbles on, although Ryan discusses whether Herald (HRI) and Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) have found a way of dealing with the activist once and for all, whilst David recaps the outcome of the Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) and Saba battle, following on from last month’s mention. Elsewhere in the news, Ryan runs through recent comments from AVI (AGT) over the performance of HarbourVest.
Over in podcasts, Jo runs through her conversation with Emily Fletcher of BlackRock Frontiers (BRFI) including the opportunities in the asset class and how they are dealing with trade and tariffs. Similarly in emerging markets, David talks through his highlights of his Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets (AWEM) podcast, including the outlook for India and their nuanced take on China exposure.
Returning closer to home, Jo summarised her conversation with Rockwood Strategic (RKW)’s Richard Staveley and his thoughts on everything from valuations to M&A. In the same vein, David spoke to Alexandra Jackson of Rathones to get her thoughts on the opportunity set in UK mid-caps, and what sectors she is most excited about. Sticking with the UK, Ryan introduced the new “Stat of the month” section where he identified a remarkable pick up in UK IPOs and what this means for the outlook of the UK and Schroder UK Mid Cap (SCP).
Finally, Jo and David went head-to-head on their portfolios, seeing who came out in the second half of 2025. Despite sharing top honours with International Biotech (IBT), would an allocation to BlackRock World Mining (BRWM) or Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) pip one or the other to the lead position?
00:00 Introduction
00:21 What’s to come
00:50 ROC’s impact on UKW’s dividend
03:20 Equity income peers merge
04:51 VEIL’s corporate activity
05:35 An endgame for Saba?
08:09 AVI target HarbourVest
09:27 EWIT vs Saba outcome
11:24 BRFI’s offering
13:44 Highlights from AWEM’s podcast
15:34 What is the outlook for RKW?
17:43 Stat of the month: UK IPOs
20:06 In conversation with Rathbone’s Alexandra Jackson
21:42 Head-to-head portfolio analysis
24:00 Risk warning
Special thanks to our sponsors at Schroders, whose support makes this podcast possible. This podcast was recorded on 04/02/2026.
