The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, but with March coming to a close we have perhaps seen the end of the first act. Most of the developed world is in various degrees of ‘lockdown’; anxiously watching poorly reported – and often poorly understood – numbers for indications that their government’s strategy is working. Meanwhile equity markets saw one of their worst ever quarters in Q1 2020, as whole swathes of the economy were shut down by government diktat. The speed with which the situation developed was remarkable; and it is fair to say that all managers would have been surprised, even if they had other reasons for being bearish. We take a look at how and why certain investment trusts have done well in absolute and relative terms amidst the carnage, and ask if the causes of the crisis can provide any indication how the situation might end, and which trusts might outperform.