I have actually sold out of Caledonia completely in the last few weeks, taking the opportunity to build up my new position in Keystone Positive Change in its place after Keystone’s share price slipped back in line with all the other Baillie Gifford trusts.

Looking back, I held CLDN for nearly 10 years in total. It struggled initially but it had a pretty good run from mid-2012 to the end of 2019. However, in the wake of the pandemic, the share price is at roughly the same level it was at the end of 2016.

The 31 Mar 2021 NAV figure should be released very soon and that could see an uplift given that it’s the year-end number which should see updated values for all the unquoted holdings and some of the PE funds. So, I may regret my haste!

[Edit] NAV update this morning and the shares are up 6%!
https://investegate.co.uk/caledonia-investmnts–cldn-/rns/unaudited-net-asset-value-and-portfolio-update/202104090901239684U/

Caledonia today (17/03/21) announced it has sold its stake, effectively for nil value, rather than participate in a further refinancing.

Caledonia Investments plc (“Caledonia”) announces that it has sold its shareholding in Buzz Bingo (“Buzz”) to Intermediate Capital Group (“ICG”) for a nominal amount. The Covid-19 crisis and the severe restrictions imposed by the Government on leisure sector businesses have led to Buzz’s clubs being unable to trade for much of the past 12 months. Buzz was refinanced in the summer of 2020 as part of a company voluntary arrangement, in which Caledonia invested £22m. However, the third national lockdown has resulted in a further requirement for new capital.

A full portfolio trading update will be released in early April, incorporating the year end valuations.

I have held some shares in Caledonia for approximately 18 of the most turbulent months I have ever known and they are only slightly below what I paid for them which is good news. However, this is a long term investment and I very pleased to be invested in this Trust, given the track record on dividends and particularly given the discount to NAV, which provides a cushion. I am confident that in the medium term I will have no cause to regret the decision to invest in Caledonia.

Thanks, Arb. I’ve had a similar view of the UK market as a whole for a few years now. There are plenty of good companies but I don’t see banks, oil, and miners in particular as great places to have your money for the next two or three decades. They may spike occasionally but I have no insight into when.

That said, I did own a bit of CTY for a couple of years until last summer – still not really sure why I did that!

@Nick

Yes, Caledonia is certainly not the most exciting vehicle to hold – BG trusts are several times more lively! I think you’re right when you say to need to understand the family’s motivations if you want to hold this trust. They seem happy to grow gradually over time and to miss out on big gains if that means they avoid the worst losses. Not an approach that suits everyone and probably not a trust for someone in their 20s and 30s who is in a better position to take on a bit more risk.

As Marc Andreessen correctly stated ‘software is eating the world’. Until such time as the UK gets its ducks in a row (likely decades away) and enables people to build and scale tech firms money invested in the UK market is likely to seriously underperform the USA and China. These countries will continue to pull ahead and deliver the returns needed to at some point have a retirement pot.

Disclosure: Short FTSE. Long SPY, QQQ, China.

Well made points as usual Tom.

I think CLDN is actually ahead of both PNL and CGT over 3 and 5 years now, but not by a substantial amount and it’s definitely been more volatile. There’s clear water on a 10-year view, but you’d expect that given the amount of fixed-income that PNL and CGT have held throughout.

I’m happy with the position size I have with this (or will be once I ditch the non-ISA part). I have much more in quality growth (Lindsell Train, Fundmsith, Smithson, JGGI) plus small-caps and healthcare so I’m happy to hedge my bets a bit with a little CLDN/RIT on the side. As always, I reserve the right to change my mind should I run out of patience 🙂

Thanks, J. I suspect I have an attachment to CLDN as well despite not being invested as long as you. And the same applies with me and RIT.

Hansa has had a rough decade as its largest holding in Ocean Wilsons, a LSE-listed Brazilian shipping firm, has been a big drag on its performance. Edison has done a number of notes on it which explains its strategy: https://www.edisongroup.com/company/hansa-trust-han/1756/

It’s probably even more quirky than RIT, ATST or CLDN though.