209: Weekly Investment Trusts Podcast - with Tim Levene and Thomas McMahon (04 May 2024)

In this week's edition of the Weekly Investment Trust Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, reviews the week in the markets and speaks to Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech (AUGM), and Thomas McMahon, head of investment trust research at Kepler Partners. Jonathan's conversation with Tim Levene was conducted from a cafe and is therefore noisier than normal. We are grateful for the support of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which enables us to keep the podcast free. Section Timestamps: 0:00:39 - This week's guests 0:02:03 - Review of the week 0:05:38 - Summary of results 0:07:08 - Money Makers Circle 0:07:40 - Corporate news and announcements 0:09:01 - Q&A with Tim Levene 0:09:11 - Progress over the past twelve months 0:12:45 - The impact of continuing wide discounts 0:16:41 - Share buybacks and cash reserves 0:19:43 - Suffering from the UK equity market 'disease' 0:26:15 - Exposure to AI 0:37:47 - Looking at the portfolio 0:41:20 - Q&A with Thomas McMahon 0:41:38 - BCPT and commercial property 0:50:14 - ASIT and split level trusts 0:58:50 - The UK micro cap sector 1:03:51 - Close Trusts mentioned this week (with tickers): India Capital Growth Fund (ICG), J.P.Morgan China Growth and Income (JCGI), Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG), Phoenix Spree Deutschland (PSDL), Digital 9 Infrastructure (DGI9), Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID), Black Rock Greater Europe (BRGE), Keystone Positive Change (KPC), Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities (APEO) / Patria Private Equity (PPET), Tritax Big Box (BBOX), UK Commercial Property (UKCM), European Assets Trust (EAT), Global Smaller Companies Trust (GSCT), Balanced Commercial Property Trust (BCPT), Custodian REIT (CREI), Picton Property Income (PCTN), Aberforth Split Level Income Trust (ASIT), Ashoka India Equity (AIE), Rockwood Strategic (RKW), J.P.Morgan Global Growth and Income (JGGI), Miton UK MicroCap Trust (MINI), River and Mercantile UK Micro Cap (RMMC). If you enjoy the weekly podcast, you may also find value in joining The Money Makers circle. This is a membership scheme that offers listeners to the podcast an opportunity, in return for a modest monthly or annual subscription, to receive additional premium content, including interviews, performance data, market/portfolio reviews and regular extracts from the editor's notebook. This week, as well as the usual features, the Circle features a profile of VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities (GSEO). Future profiles include Henderson High Income (HHI) and CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income (NCIM). Remember to look out for the latest edition of our new expanded weekly subscriber email which summarises Jonathan's latest thoughts and includes all the regular features available in the Circle. The content of that email is also available for subscribers via the website. For more information about the Money Makers circle, please visit money-makers.co/membership-join. Membership helps to cover the cost of producing the weekly investment trust podcast, which will continue to be free. We are very grateful for your continued support and the enthusiastic response to our nearly 210 podcasts since launch. You can find more information, including relevant disclosures, at www.money-makers.co. Please note that this podcast is provided for educational purposes only and nothing you hear should be considered as investment advice. Our podcasts are also available on the Association of Investment Companies website, www.theaic.co.uk. Produced by Ben Gamblin.