JohnBaronPortfolios.co.uk

SOI is a UK-listed investment company which aims to deliver income and capital growth through investments in dividend-paying companies across the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan. Lead manager Richard Sennitt, who has over 30 years of experience in Asian markets, has managed the trust since 2020. The fund adopts a bottom-up, fundamentally driven approach supported by a large team of analysts based throughout Asia.

In this podcast, Richard explains the strategy, highlighting its emphasis on strong, sustainable dividends over mere high yields; he discusses the company's regional and sector allocation, and the rationale for portfolio weightings towards Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, and away from India and China. He outlines the methodology behind its rigorous bottom-up stock selection, and how the company is responding to geopolitical developments that are affecting Asia. He also discusses a positive shift in dividend culture across Asia, particularly in markets like Korea and Taiwan, and emphasizes the growing opportunity for income investors in the region.

Welcome to The Two Johns, the investment trust podcast brought to you by the website www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk. Each month, John Baron joins former Investors' Chronicle editor John Hughman to discuss the big themes dominating the investment landscape and the important issues affecting the sector, while explaining how these are influencing the way the website's ten live investment trust portfolios are being managed.

In this episode, they follow up last month's discussion of stickier than expected inflation by explaining how the website's portfolios are positioned to navigate this economic backdrop, before turning to chapter 7 of John's book (The Financial Times Guide to Investment Trusts) to look at the AIC's Dividend Heroes, and how investment trusts are uniquely positioned to deliver such unblemished income histories.

JEGI is a London-listed investment company offering investors diversified access to European equities outside the UK and is a core holding within several portfolios. Managed by Tim Lewis alongside Zana Shuhabber and Alexander Fitzalan Howard, the company aims to deliver both capital growth and a reliable income stream, targeting a 4% dividend yield paid quarterly. The company employs a flexible and balanced strategy, seeking to perform across a range of market conditions by focusing on stock selection and maintaining exposure to both growth and value segments across Europe.

In this interview, Tim Lewis outlines the trust’s approach to investing in focusing on high-quality businesses with underappreciated value and momentum using both quantitative and fundamental analysis to uncover opportunities across sectors and market caps, including recently increased exposure to disruptive European small caps. He discusses key investment themes include infrastructure, electrification, and why he believes Europe is improving its competitiveness amid global volatility. Lewis also highlights the trust’s strong recent performance, driven by investment in companies like Italy’s UniCredit bank andGermany’s Heidelberg Materials, and notes optimism about Europe's structural recovery, long-term fiscal initiatives, and supportive monetary conditions.

IEM is a specialist investment company that provides investors with exposure to businesses delivering solutions to global environmental challenges, in particular those that enable the more sustainable use of resources including energy and water. Unlike trusts heavily invested in renewable infrastructure, IEM invests directly in equities around the world to tap into long-term structural growth trends driven by the global transition toward a more sustainable and resource-efficient economy.

In part two of our IEM interview series, we speak once again to co-manager Fotis Chatzimichalakis to understand how IEM has maintained resilience amid recent market volatility by limiting exposure to policy-sensitive areas like renewables and focusing on more stable, high-growth businesses supporting resource efficiency which offer their customer significant cost savings as well as solving environmental challenges. He outlines significant allocations in water infrastructure and energy management, and the importance of geographic diversification into emerging markets like India and China which are investing heavily in environmental technologies. And he underlines the importance of data-driven digital technologies that support the drive for resource efficiency as a particularly attractive investment opportunity.

Welcome to The Two Johns, the investment trust podcast brought to you by the website. Each month, John Baron joins former Investors' Chronicle editor John Hughman to discuss the big themes dominating the investment landscape and the important issues affecting the sector, while explaining how these are influencing the way the website's ten live investment trust portfolios are being managed.

In this episode's three sections, they take a look at the factors which are likely to keep inflation higher and more volatile than previously expected, not least ongoing geopolitical tension; how the ability to borrow is another structural advantage enjoyed by investment companies over their open-ended counterparts, and how recent increases in gearing point to renewed optimism among managers;and how a continued narrowing of investment trust discounts to NAV from unusually elevated levels offers opportunity for value-conscious investors. 

IEM is a specialist investment company that provides investors with exposure to businesses delivering solutions to global environmental challenges, in particular those that enable the more sustainable use of resources including energy and water. Unlike trusts heavily invested in renewable infrastructure, IEM invests directly in equities around the world to tap into long-term structural growth trends driven by the global transition toward a more sustainable and resource-efficient economy.

In the first of two interviews with the team behind the company, we speak to chairman Glen Suarez, a former investment banker who’s turned his attention to the investment company sector, and past chairman of trusts including Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN), Blackrock Throgmorton (THRG), and Bluefield Solar Income (BSIF). We discuss the important but often understated role of investment company boards in driving shareholder returns, the relationship between boards and the investment managers, and – in context of the recent actions of Saba Capital – the importance of dialogue with shareholders, and particularly retail shareholders.

SOI is a UK-listed investment company which aims to deliver income and capital growth through investments in dividend-paying companies across the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan. Lead manager Richard Sennitt, who has over 30 years of experience in Asian markets, has managed the trust since 2020. The fund adopts a bottom-up, fundamentally driven approach supported by a large team of analysts based throughout Asia.

In this podcast, Richard explains the strategy, highlighting its emphasis on strong, sustainable dividends over mere high yields; he discusses the company’s regional and sector allocation, and the rationale for portfolio weightings towards Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, and away from India and China. He outlines the methodology behind its rigorous bottom-up stock selection, and how the company is responding to geopolitical developments that are affecting Asia. He also discusses a positive shift in dividend culture across Asia, particularly in markets like Korea and Taiwan, and emphasizes the growing opportunity for income investors in the region.

NCYF is a closed-ended investment company focused on generating a high level of income, primarily through a diversified portfolio of high-yielding fixed income securities. Managed by Ian ‘Franco’ Francis of CQS, the fund targets opportunities in sub-investment grade credit, with a strong emphasis on capital preservation and careful risk management. With nearly 19 years of consistent performance under Franco’s leadership, NCYF maintains a UK-centric portfolio while retaining the flexibility to invest globally.

In this episode, Franco joins John Hughman to discuss the current investment landscape and how NCYF is positioned to navigate it. Topics include the impact of market volatility, interest rate cycles, and inflation, as well as sector-specific opportunities in financials, travel, and renewables. Franco also explains the fund’s disciplined approach to bond selection, the role of equities, and how NCYF fits within a balanced portfolio - offering income, resilience, and potential for capital growth.

Welcome to The Two Johns, the investment trust podcast brought to you by the website www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk. Each month, John Baron joins former Investors' Chronicle editor John Hughman to discuss the big themes dominating the investment landscape and the important issues affecting the sector, while explaining how these are influencing the way the website's ten live investment trust portfolios are being managed.

In this episode, John Baron and John Hughman take a look at three sectors where sentiment has displaced fundamentals, and how such special situations in biotech, fintech and specialist mining present an opportunity for investors willing to look past the pessimism. They discuss the special structural factors that have influenced the long-term outperformance of investment companies, before turning their attention to why investors should be wary of paying too much attention to short-term macroeconomics and geopolitics.

Montanaro Asset Management, founded in 1991 by anthropologist-turned-investor Charles Montanaro, has carved a distinctive niche in UK small-cap investment. With a team of 39, including 18 long-serving analysts and fund managers, the firm manages approximately £3 billion in assets.

Montanaro’s unconventional background and early experiences in private equity shaped his vision of applying a private equity approach to publicly quoted UK small companies. MTU, launched in 1995, embodies this vision, offering clients access to under-researched, high-quality small-cap companies. Charles stresses the importance of investing in simple, understandable businesses led by trustworthy management, and he remains convinced of the sector’s long-term outperformance, despite recent headwinds.

In this exclusive podcast appearance, Charles discusses the challenges UK small caps have faced, from macroeconomic shocks to capital outflows in favour of US mega-cap tech stocks, and why he believes the sector is poised for recovery. He highlights the inefficiencies and lack of research coverage in the small-cap space as opportunities for active managers and shares examples from MTU’s portfolio, including Big Yellow, Cranswick, and Chemring Group. He explains why he prefers boots-on-the-ground research and long-term holding strategies, underscoring his team’s discipline and deep sector expertise.

He also critiques structural issues affecting UK equity markets, advocating for regulatory and pension reform to reinvigorate domestic investment, and why a background in anthropology has proved an invaluable tool in understanding the psychology behind small-cap investing.