Funds and trusts four pros are buying and selling: Q2 2025

Global markets have been experiencing a notable pick-up in volatility after US President Donald Trump’s tariffs sparked a trade war. This led to a downturn in stock markets and growing concerns over economic instability. But professional fund buyers always take a long-term view on the current economic environment and find new ways of positioning their portfolios.

Every quarter, our multi-manager panel participants reveal their current bull and bear points. They also discuss the new funds and investment trusts they have bought, increased their holdings in, and trimmed or sold.

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Peter Hewitt, manager of CT Global Managed Portfolio Trust

Reason to be bullish: growth in both the UK and Europe has been flatlining over recent quarters. There are, however, signs that as we move through the year some modest upward momentum will emerge. Germany announced a major boost to defence and infrastructure expenditure, while in the UK strong real wage growth should feed through to improved consumer spending. Interest rates in both areas look set to fall further.

Reason to be bearish: the uncertainty around US policy has reached heightened levels and appears to have begun to affect business confidence and investment plans. Tariffs will reduce growth and raise inflation in the US. Growth will slow in the US as a consequence. This is a concern for equity markets.

Bought: having been out of favour for a considerable period, European equity markets look better placed particularly at a time of much higher level of uncertainty, which is affecting the US. That’s why Hewitt has bought JPMorgan European Growth & Income Ord (LSE:JEGI), a trust he describes as the best performer in the European sector over most time periods, run by an experienced team. “They employ a disciplined investment approach, which tightly controls country and sector weightings but allows stock selection to generate consistent outperformance,” he says. A dividend equal to 4% of year-end net asset value is paid out in quarterly instalments over the next year.

Increased: Hewitt has increased his holding in Oakley Capital Investments Ord (LSE:OCI), a private equity investment trust. He says: “There are good indications that it looks set for a stronger next few years in terms of net asset performance.”

Hewitt notes that the underlying performance from key holdings in the portfolio continue to be strong. In addition, prospects for realisations over this year have improved, which could result in uplifts to the net asset value. The trust has cancelled its dividend to devote more resources to share buybacks, the aim being to narrow the discount, which remains wide at -33%.

Sold: Care REIT Ord (LSE:CRT) (previous name Impact Healthcare) has been sold following receipt of a bid by a US real estate investment trust called CareTrust REIT Inc (NYSE:CTRE). Care REIT owned a portfolio of care homes across the UK, but did not operate them. Recent full-year results saw a small rise in the net asset value and the forecast of another increase in the dividend for the shares to yield 8.5%, before the bid.

The price tag represented a premium of 33% to Care REIT’s closing price on 10 March. Hewitt says the share price was on a discount of over -33%, which has been persistent for some time. The offer came in at a -9% discount to asset value and was recommended by the board.

“Although this represented a useful uplift, it is disappointing that a well-run company has been acquired at a discount to net asset value,” says Hewitt.

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Vincent Ropers, co-manager of IFSL Wise Multi-Asset Growth & IFSL Wise Multi-Asset Income

Reason to be bearish: the unpredictability of Donald Trump’s policies is creating a chaotic economic environment globally with a level of uncertainty usually reserved for crises. The use of tariffs is threatening a global trade war, which is likely to dampen growth and fuel inflation.

Reason to be bullish: global economies, particularly in the US, remain on a relatively strong footing so far, however, so talks of a recession could be premature if cooler heads prevail in trade negotiations over the next few weeks leading to a reasonable, and manageable, middle ground.

Bought: Ropers added a new position in the newly launched Achilles Investment Company Ord (LSE:AIC). This small investment trust (£54 million) will target other investment trusts in the alternatives space — property, infrastructure, private equity — which trade at wide discounts and where an activist strategy could help maximise value for shareholders. “The managers are well known in the industry, and to us, being part of a joint venture with Odyssean Capital that we own,” says Ropers.

He believes that Achilles’ approach to working alongside existing investors to realise value in a small number of investment trusts without a hidden agenda should benefit shareholders.

Increased: he added to his positions in listed infrastructure and renewables over the quarter, via a basket of investment trust names where he thinks the pain suffered over the past couple of years could be starting to come to an end. These include HICL Infrastructure PLC Ord (LSE:HICL), International Public Partnerships Ord (LSE:INPP), Renewables Infrastructure Group (LSE:TRIG), Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW), Bluefield Solar Income Fund (LSE:BSIF) and Foresight Solar Ord (LSE:FSFL).

Ropers says that many trusts in the sector over-issued shares at a time when they were seen as the only place to get a reliable income when government bond yields were low. “In a higher-rate environment, valuations had to be adjusted, and these trusts now need to prove their worth to investors faced with more income-generating choices,” he says.

Discounts of -25% to -35% and attractive dividend yields provide a margin of safety, adds Ropers.

He adds: “From a timing standpoint, the sector has attracted interest from private buyers and activists recently, and boards are under pressure to show willingness to address the wide discounts.”

This, he thinks, could provide an interesting entry point into the sector.

Sold: he also exited Care REIT following the bid by a US-based competitor. “The bid illustrates how the wide discounts in the listed property sector are now pricing in a lot of downside risk and can present opportunities,” he says.

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Tihana Ibrahimpasic, portfolio manager, multi-asset team, Janus Henderson

Reason to be bearish: even if there is some roll-back for specific countries, we think that the unexpectedly high tariffs implemented by the US are going to have a meaningful drag on both the US economy and elsewhere. This will occur through a real income squeeze in the US due to higher goods prices and a demand reduction for major exporting economies elsewhere. The risk of recession has jumped meaningfully higher since the implementation of reciprocal tariffs.

Reason to be bullish: we don’t see large imbalances in the economy and so believe that any recession could be relatively mild by historical standards, with it being mostly a policy choice.

Bought: Ibrahimpasic opened a position in the Janus Henderson Tabula Euro AAA CLO ETF. This is a recently launched strategy, based off a long-standing track record of the European Securitised Debt team at the firm. “This strategy offers exposure to an appealing asset class from a yield and diversification perspective, with minimal interest rate duration,” says Ibrahimpasic.

Increased: she has added to her position in the Muzinich Global Short Duration Investment Grade fund, which is run by an experienced team. “It seeks to invest in high-quality paper with an average duration of around 1.5 years,” says Ibrahimpasic. Most of its assets are invested across Western Europe, while banking and diversified financials are leading industry exposures.

Sold: she closed a small position in the Janus Henderson Global Sustainable Equity fund, which invests in growing companies with durable, competitively advantaged business models, and high sustainability credentials. “The decision was primarily based on seeking more regional equity exposure as opposed to investing in a global strategy,” says Ibrahimpasic.

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Simon Evan-Cook, manager of the Downing Fox Funds

Reason to be bullish: real wages are still growing faster than the cost of things that people want to buy with those wages, which means they can buy more of those things. This is good news, albeit most economists see it as bad news. But that’s economists for you.

Reason to be bearish: tariffs are clearly the talk of the town at the moment. Even if the tariffs themselves don’t cause an economic slowdown, the fear and uncertainty caused by them could still do the trick.

Bought: global equity fund Nutshell Growth was recently added. It is managed by Mark Ellis, who founded Nutshell Asset Management in 2019. Evan-Cook appreciates the fact that it’s underpinned by a focus on high-quality companies. “But we are also impressed by the manager’s potential to add to returns by more actively trading between his holdings,” he says.

Increased: there have been no major changes for Evan-Cook this quarter, but one holding he did top up was the WS Havelock Global Select fund. It is a global equity fund managed in a value style that, he says, “has been doing a good job, and is well positioned to continue doing so”.

Trimmed: Evan-Cook reduced his exposure to the US dollar slightly in mid-March. “The dollar has some wonderful properties as a haven asset, but the recent noises coming out of the US government are threatening that, so we felt it prudent to reflect that in our portfolios,” he says.

The four multi-manager panellists

Peter Hewitt is manager of the CT Global Managed Portfolio Growth Ord (LSE:CMPG) and CT Global Managed Portfolio Income Ord (LSE:CMPI), where he specialises in investment trusts.

Vincent Ropers is a portfolio manager at Wise Funds, responsible for multi-asset strategies, using value and fundamental investment styles. He is co-manager of IFSL Wise Multi-Asset Growth and IFSL Wise Multi-Asset Income.

Tihana Ibrahimpasic is a portfolio manager on the multi-asset team at Janus Henderson Investors. Prior to taking this role in 2021, she was a research analyst in the team from 2018.

Simon Evan-Cook is a multi-asset, fund-of-funds manager with over 25 years’ experience in the investment industry. He joined Downing in 2022 to set up and manage the Downing Fox range of funds.