Hi REd — you’ve confused me a bit. Are you talking about Martin Currie Global Portfolio restructuring (I can’t see that it has, not recently anyway) or another trust?

I have a small holding and could accept the reduction in yield in the present climate but could not believe the holding that were sold and the massive buy up of tobacco shares .

This now is a IT to dispose off

Hi David,

Yes, I think that’s a fair point. It’s difficult for outsiders to know exactly how much a trust changes when a new manager takes charge.

Some of the larger firms have a strong culture and changes can be made almost seamlessly, especially where the new manager serves as a deputy to the old one for several years beforehand.

But in this case, it does almost seem like a new trust given how many of the holdings were sold off and the fact Osmani came in from elsewhere. However, it’s worth noting that a number of holdings were only sold earlier this year so Osmani did keep a few more legacy positions for eighteen months or so and then re-assessed their prospects in light of COVID.

I still like to look at older performance stats to get a feel for how the fund management firm has performed over the long term. I think a firm that has been able to appoint a succession of good managers has a better chance of continuing to do so in the future.

@M — I’ve never really looked at HINT in any detail I’m afraid. It seems to have suffered the fate of many trusts that have been underweight the US over the last few years and underperformed global markets somewhat, similar to my holdings of RCP and CLDN. Just looking down its latest full portfolio, it seems to hold quite a mixed bag of companies but that’s just a first impression from a very quick pass.

Still watching this one closely …

Btw can I ask for your opinion of Henderson International Income Trust?

This is a fascinating one. The portfolio is pretty top notch. I have also been very impressed by the USA OEIC he manages.

Minus points for being at a big institution (who knows when he might leave) and concern that he may be managing too many different funds. And, as you say, the management fee.

I got the sense that there is a higher portfolio turnover than I’d like. As with Blue Whale, it will take some time for me to believe that they can consistently do this well, as the vast majority can’t, and the smart money often doesn’t bother.

Also, beyond all the marketing blurb, I don’t REALLY understand his investment philosophy, though if it’s just ‘buy good companies’ he seems to be doing that well.

Finally, the more funds being run a la Fundsmith (i.e. 30 quality holdings) the better in most respects, but there is a small fear that it adds to certain companies’ valuations being gradually driven to dangerous ‘Nifty 50’ extremes.