Investment trusts were the main contributors to Vanbrugh’s performance last month, but some of them, such as FRM credit alpha and SR Europe, have been sold to realise profits.
Hawksmoor says investment trust discounts to NAV are generally at the narrow end of the spectrum. For example, it says the discounts of many Japanese investment trusts have narrowed as investor sentiment became more positive. This prompted the multi-manager team to replace its holding in the JPM Japanese investment trust with a the open-ended GLG Japan core alpha fund. The switch allowed Hawksmoor to maintain Vanbrugh’s Japanese exposure while removing the risk of discounts widening again.
The GLG fund was preferred to other open-ended Japanese funds because Hawksmoor has owned the fund previously, so the team knows it inside out. Consistent performance was also a factor in its selection.
Hawksmoor fund manager Daniel Lockyer says: “The GLG fund has maintained its performance well. It is the only fund to be first quartile over the last five years out of 5,000 IMA funds.”
