BRAI is a systematic, active equity investment companytargeting US value stocks with the dual aim of delivering consistent returns and a 6% annual dividend yield. The trust applies four decades of BlackRock’s systematic investing expertise, combining advanced data science, AI, and portfolio construction discipline to outperform the Russell 1000 Value Index. Its structure allows for long-term capital deployment, with stringent shareholder protections including a 100% tender offer if it fails to beat its benchmark by 50bps annually over three years. Holding 150–250 stocks diversified across sectors, the trust seeks to capture inefficiencies in one of the world’s most competitive markets while managing risk and maintaining reliable income.
In the interview, co-manager Muzo Kayacan explains how AI – including transformer-based large language models – is reshaping the trust's investment process, from digesting 6,500 broker notes a day in 47 languages to back testing millions of ideas in seconds. He describes the balance between automation and human insight, where machines handle data-heavy analysis while portfolio managers focus on creative and complex decision-making. The conversation explores portfolio construction, risk controls, dividend sustainability, and how systematic signals such as valuation, management quality and sentiment combine to identify underappreciated US value opportunities. Kayacan also reflects on the “second golden age for quant,” outlining how scale, innovation, and continuous discovery of new signals give BlackRock an edge in staying ahead in systematic investing.
Welcome to The Two Johns, the investment trust podcastbrought 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 13, the two Johns discuss the portfolios' large contrarian bet on the healthcare sector, and how the triple tailwinds of ageing populations, accelerated innovation, and greater political clarity have been overlooked by the market. They also dissect the recent Autumn budget to assess its implication for investors, and where the opportunities may lie as economic growth continues to evade the Chancellor.
JEDT aims to deliver long-term capital growth by investing in high-quality smaller companies across continental Europe. Rebranded from the Small Cap Trust, its new identity reflects its focus on uncovering under-researched and overlooked businesses with strong growth potential. With a benchmark of the MSCI Europe ex-UK Small Cap Index, the trust is managed by Jon Ingram, Jules Bloch and Jack Featherby, who use a flexible, factor-driven investment process to identify opportunities across value, quality, and operational momentum. The portfolio is deliberately diversified across geographies and sectors, with a bias toward areas such as industrials, healthcare, and technology - sectors most likely to generate 'ten-bagger' returns. The trust employs gearing of up to 20% to enhance returns.
In this interview we speak to portfolio manager Jack Featherby who outlines why European small caps are such a compelling hunting ground, highlighting their superior long-term performance, stronger growth rates than even the S&P 500, and current attractive valuations; he describes the process for identifying hidden gems and the trust's focus on finding companies dominating niche markets with clear growth catalysts; and he stresses the importance of direct engagement with management, which helps uncover crucial insights into business drivers.
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 return to the subject of gold and precious metals, and the possibility that gold could displace the dollar as the reserve asset that underpins the global financial system. They also look at the opportunities offered by the precious metal mining companies given their valuations, and gold’s role within the discipline of diversification alongside other non-correlated assets that offer a useful alternative to bonds.
Launched in 2023 in the teeth of volatile conditions marked by rising interest rates, the Ukraine crisis, and banking sector turmoil, ONWD is one of only a handful of UK investment companies to have made it to market in recent years. Under the leadership of manager Laurence Hulse, the trust’s focus is on smaller UK companies, applying a contrarian philosophy that seeks value in overlooked or misunderstood opportunities to deliver a long-term return target of 15% per year.
In this interview, Laurence explains the trust’s philosophy of ‘dawn and dusk’ investing – spotting recovery or transformation stories early, and capturing deep value where the market has given up. He outlines a rigorous, private-equity style process involving deep due diligence incorporating in-depth financial modelling and site visits. He also describes the trust’s ‘nursery’ approach, where small initial positions are taken before conviction builds, and shares examples of successful investment such as Angling Direct, Alumasc, Likewise, and Pebble Beach. The conversation also touches on the challenges of the UK small-cap market, the trust’s active but collaborative engagement with company management, and the importance of public markets in supporting broader growth and personal wealth creation.
In this episode, John Hughman welcomes back Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd from New City Investment Management to discuss GCL, a UK-listed investment trust focused on the global nuclear energy sector. Managed by Keith and Robert, the trust is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the resurgence of nuclear power, with a mandate that allows them to invest across the full supply chain. As governments and industries seek stable, zero-carbon energy solutions amid the rising power demands of AI and data centres, GCL aims to provide investors with access to high-conviction uranium equities that could benefit from this long-term shift. The trust currently trades at a discount, offering additional upside potential, including a value-adding embedded rights issue.
The conversation spans the key drivers of the “nuclear renaissance,” from geopolitics and energy security to climate policy and AI-driven electricity demand. Keith and Robert explain the trust's focused, conviction-led approach, with names like NexGen and UR-Energy forming a substantial part of the portfolio due to their strategic assets and near-term production potential. The episode explores the economics of uranium, the evolving role of small modularreactors (SMRs), and the underappreciated risks of supply chain fragility and the resulting supply-demand imbalances that impact the spot uranium price. With expert insights on geological quality, jurisdictional risk, and capital discipline, the managers detail how their deep sector knowledge helps them identify quality opportunities.
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 talk value investing, and why the portfolios are being repositioned in favour of value stocks and markets in anticipation of tougher times ahead, before tackling one of the biggest questions of the day – is capitalism broken, what can be done to fix it, and what does capitalism’s current malaise mean for investors.
MTE is managed by George Cooke at Montanaro Asset Management and focuses on delivering capital growth through investments in high-quality, niche smaller companies across continental Europe. The company is held in a number of portfolios and aims to identify well-managed businesses with strong balance sheets, sustainable profitability, and clear structural growth opportunities. Its approach deliberately avoids the economic cycle, choosing instead to invest in businesses capable of growing irrespective of broader macroeconomic conditions. With a deeply experienced and multilingual investment team, Montanaro leverages bottom- up research and regular site visits to uncover under-researched gems.
In the interview, George elaborates on the trust’s distinctive bottom-up approach that filters for enduring quality and growth, and the importance of structural growth over cyclical trends; how the scale of its analyst team gives it an edge in conducting due diligence on investments employing frameworks such as Porter’s Five Forces to assess competitive moats and business longevity; how the trust's long-term outlook, emphasis on owner-operators, and willingness to hold positions for a decade or more underpins its strategy; and how the trust’s portfolio is skewed toward industrials and specialist manufacturers, benefiting from Europe’s dense ecosystem of niche players.
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.
<p>Welcome to The Two Johns, the investment trust podcast brought to you by the website <a href="http://www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk</a>. 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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.
CVCG is an investment company specialising in Europeancorporate debt, with a core focus on senior secured loans and sub-investment grade credit. Its primary objective is to generate a reliable income stream, but it also seeks capital growth by identifying undervalued credit opportunities - bonds and loans trading below par. The trust benefits from a dedicated team of analysts based in London and New York, allowing it to carry out deep credit work and selectively deploy capital where risk-adjusted returns are most attractive. By investing in floating rate debt, which benefits directly from rising base rates, CVCG has been well-positioned for the recent interest rate cycle, and its senior secured position offers a strong buffer in the event of defaults.
In this podcast, portfolio manager Pieter Staelens outlines how CVCG has responded to the sharp rise in interest rates, why its focus on mature, cash-generative businesses - particularly in sectors like healthcare and business services - has helped avoid distress, and how geopolitical uncertainty is shaping credit opportunities. He explains how the trust adapts its 50/50 portfolio split between performing credit and opportunistic investments depending on market conditions, and why it continues to avoid volatile or opaque sectors like real estate, automotive, and emerging markets. With yields still in the high single to low double digits and a proven ability to generate top-up dividends, Staelens argues the trust remains well-placed to thrive even as rate cuts begin and economic visibility remains limited.
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 delve into the misunderstood world of private debt and why its balance of risk and reward offers an attractive alternative to public debt markets. They also examine the importance of keeping an eye on fees, and why investment trusts are an increasingly competitive choice against other collective vehicles. And they discuss how Trump’s tariff wars are yet another reason to think inflation is likely to remain higher for longer.