With Saba Capital having turned the spotlight on a handful of underperforming investment trusts, there is now a wave of activity as other trusts look for ways to reduce the persistent discount to NAV (net asset value) which has dogged the asset class.Some have introduced 'discount control' mechanisms, others have launched share buybacks, and some have announced they will hold a 'continuation vote'

HarbourVest Global Private Equity(HVPE) £23.10Market cap: £1.75 billion The markets haven't been kind to private equity and other 'long-duration' investments over the last couple of years as high interest rates hammered their valuations, but with the global rate cycle now turning we believe money is poised to flow back into these assets.HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) is a $4.3 billion

According to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), private equity trusts delivered an average return of 409% over the 10 years to 31 May 2023, which compares very favourably to 156% for all investment companies.Yet despite this spectacular long-run performance, 14 out of 17 trusts in the AIC's Private Equity sector trade on double-digit discounts to NAV (net asset value) at the time of wr

Whether or not you are a value investor by nature, we all get a kick out of finding companies which are trading on big discounts to 'fair value'.Rather like Warren Buffett, who claims he buys dollar stocks for 50 cents, we all like to think we can spot a bargain.The problem is identifying fair value, first, then having the courage of our convictions to go for it, second.In the investment trust wor

Private equity investors have been put on warning after press reports last month that privately-owned BNPL (buy now, pay later) specialist Klarna was seeking to raise fresh capital at a steep discount to its previous valuation.This has raised the question of whether private equity valuations need to be downgraded across the board, as this would affect many investment trusts with unquoted holdings.

Consumer stocks in London on Friday were benefiting from the package of handouts unveiled by the UK government on Thursday, while the shares of domestic energy producers were taking the brunt of selling triggered by windfall profit tax confirmed in the same budget package.Reports from US consumer-facing companies that were more upbeat than recent ones from peers also was helping the consumer secto

Listing shares on a stock market used to be the default option for many businesses, providing them with access to a large pool of investors to tap up for funding and the ability to use their shares to pay for acquisitions.However, private equity funding now provides many businesses with a lot of the benefits of a public listing but without all the hassle.Even though an increasing number of busines

In the end 2021 proved a rewarding year for stock markets as vaccines were rolled out and economies began to recover from the worst ravages of the pandemic. In the early part of the year, growth was shunned for value before bouncing back into fashion as the year progressed.On the whole, this was a volatile period, with investors contending with concerns over inflation and the rising interest rates

Before they come to the stock market, all companies need to raise capital in order to grow and one of their options is to work with pools of private money set aside specifically for that purpose.Investing in private equity through an investment trust is not only a good way to diversify your exposure away from publicly-quoted stocks, but it offers the possibility of 'getting in on the ground floor'

Strong historical performance data doesn't guarantee a fund will continue to do well in the future, so investors shouldn't buy an investment trust solely based on how it has done in the past expecting similar returns in the future.However, past performance, particularly over the long term, is still worth considering as it provides evidence of how well a trust has done in a variety of market condit

It is little wonder that interest in 'alternative assets' has exploded.We live in a world of negative interest rates, where $17tn of bonds including government bonds trade at nominal yields below zero - meaning that if investors held them to maturity, they would lose money not make money - and more than double that amount trades on yields which track below the rate of inflation.Alternative assets

There is an unusually wide spread between the premiums and discounts in the private equity-focused investment trust space. We would normally expect such products to trade below the value of their underlying assets yet the sector currently has some trading on discounts as wide as 40% and premiums of more than 26% to net asset value (NAV).Investment bank Stifel argues there should be a natural disco

The private equity market is in an odd position. It is awash with money ready to invest, thanks to a strong period of asset realisations over the last few years plus strong support from investors wanting to back new private equity deals.Unfortunately there is a lot of competition for assets because the industry is desperate to do more deals. That in turn is pushing up valuation multiples for inves

A new document required to be published by all investment trusts could be misleading to investors, according to experts.Called the Key Information Document (KID), it is meant to help prospective investors understand the nature of a fund, the target investor base, its expected risks/returns and costs.Introduced on 1 January 2018, the KID has actually left experts wondering if it will do more harm t

The private equity sector is awash with cash as funds offload holdings in investee companies and investors enthusiastically put up new money in the hope of getting exposure to the next big thing. That suggests to me that we are in the final bull phase for private equity.You can't move for headlines about funds selling stakes in business via IPOs (initial public offerings) or raising billions of do

AstraZeneca (AZN) is one of the top risers in early trading, seeing its share price rise by 3.6% to £49.16. The firm has made a breakthrough with its lung cancer drug treatment Imfinzi saying that it significantly reduces the risk of the disease worsening or leading to death.Non-standard lender Provident Financial (PFG) interim management statement fails to quell fears over the future of its home

One of the key points to check when buying an investment trust is the discount or premium to net asset value (NAV). It always feels like a bargain if you can buy the shares for less than the underlying portfolio is worth, but it is important to dig a bit deeper.An investment trust trading at a discount such as 5% may look like good value, yet if the shares normally change hands 10% below their NAV