- Discount to net asset value remains an issue- Board dismisses option of limited 'exit opportunity'- Managed wind-down 'a sensible option' says analystInvestment company VPC Specialty Lending (VSL), which specialises in asset-backed lending to growing companies, has surprised the market with a proposal to wind down the business and return capital to shareholders due to its failure to reduce the d

Given the poor recent performance of many investment trusts compared with the FTSE 100 index - which has held up relatively well this year and which investors can access via a tracker fund for a few basis points - the age-old issue of fees has reared its head again.The big question for investors in investment trusts which carry a high OCF (ongoing charge fee) is should they stick with them when th

With inflation eating away at investors' income, high-yield trusts can look very appealing. However, the big question investors should ask before committing themselves is just how sustainable are the dividend streams?In this article we analyse four of the highest-yielding trusts, with a diverse mix of income generation, from European real estate and specialist lending to solar assets and Far Easte

When weighing up investment trusts to add to your portfolio, cost is a key consideration. The greater the charges associated with a fund, the better your investments must perform to deliver you a return.One of the biggest costs are the fees investment trusts payto fund managers for managing the portfolio; investment trusts may also pay a performance fee if the manager outperforms certain targets.F

The internet has revolutionised many areas of the financial services industry. One such innovation is enabling retail investors to directly lend their cash to fledgling companies or individuals through peer-to-peer lending.Investment trust VPC Specialist Lending Investments (VSL) has been established to give investors lower risk exposure to the online lending market.This involves lending its cash

Peer to peer or P2P lending is proving very attractive to the income-starved investor. At a time when their savings account is paying less than 1%, peer to peer lenders claim to offer rates from 5-10% for lending to individual and small businesses. In theory it also allows you to bypass the unpopular banking sector. But can it beat the income available on shares? And are investors taking more risk

Investors who diversify their portfolios can achieve a more stable return because many of the ups and downs in the individual holdings will cancel each other out. The obvious way to do this is to allocate your money across different asset classes and geographic markets, but there are a number of uncorrelated funds that can take the process a stage further.One of the least correlated areas of all a

The Government has increased the number of eligible investments that can be held in a Stocks & Shares ISA, Junior ISA and Child Trust Fund. These changes came into effect on 1 July so you can take advantage immediately as long as your provider is up to speed.There are three new types of assets that you can shelter in one of these tax-efficient wrappers, with the first being securities (including r

Quality not quantity looks to be the story when it comes to new investment trust issues in 2015. According to the latest monthly report from Winterflood Investment Trusts £1.59 billion has been raised in the first three months of the year including issue activity and new issue activity, compared with £2.04 billion for the first three months of 2014.Fundraising across the investment trust sector