JohnBaronPortfolios.co.uk

CVCG is an investment company focused on European corporate debt, through senior secured loans and sub-investment grade credit. The company’s primary focus is to generate income, but its team of analysts are also well-positioned to deliver capital growth by investing in bonds trading below par. That’s helped it deliver a NAV return of over 70% in its ten-year history, comfortably ahead of the AIC’...

UEM is an investment company dedicated to equity investments in infrastructure, utility, and related sectors in the emerging markets. Supported by a team of specialist industry analysts, the company has been managed by Charles Jillings since it was established in 2011 and has beaten the global emerging markets benchmark over 1, 3 and 5 years, as well as offering an attractive dividend. In this int...

DORE is an investment company that aims to deliver steady returns by investing in a diversified portfolio of hydro, wind, solar, and other renewable energy infrastructure assets across the UK and Europe. In this interview we speak to the company’s manager Tom Williams about the importance of diversification in generating consistent returns from renewables; how the company creates new revenue strea...

NAS invests in smaller companies across the UK and US, including both public and unquoted businesses either directly or via other investment companies. The company has been managed by its chief executive officer Christopher Mills since 1982, over which time it’s achieved an annualised share price return of over 14%. In this interview, Christopher discusses the company’s hands on investment strateg...

CREI is a commercial property company that seeks to deliver a strong income return by investing in a diversified portfolio of smaller regional properties across the UK. The company’s portfolio consists of industrial, office and retail assets, with rental income underpinning a dividend yield in excess of 6%. In this interview, manager Richard Shepherd-Cross discusses how the company’s diversified,...

OIT is an investment company which aims to generate capital returns by investing in a concentrated portfolio of UK companies – currently fewer than 20 – which are typically too small to be included in the FTSE 250. The company uses a ‘differentiated’, research-led approach to identify opportunities focused on four key sectors – Industrials, TMT, Healthcare and Business Services. Engagement with co...

Launched in 2015, GSF is the first of a handful of London-listed investment companies focused on the provision of grid-level energy storage and is held within the Green portfolio. The company has 1.17GW of capacity installed (291.6MW) and in its pipeline (881.6MW), across 27 projects in four grids – GB, Ireland, Germany and the US. This helps it deliver a target 7% dividend yield against the avera...

MIGO invests in closed-ended funds across the London Stock Exchange with the aim of outperforming the 3-month SONIA interest rate benchmark plus 2 per cent. The company sits within the AIC’s Flexible Investment sector, reflecting the fact its unconstrained approach allows it to range across the investment company sector to exploit pricing inefficiencies in out of favour segments of the market. In...

As well as interviewing investment trust managers, this page will also include interviews with other commentators in order to add perspective. The objective will be to convey a broad range of views which naturally may not reflect the portfolios' positions but will enrich our, and we hope members', investment process. Neil Wilson is chief market analyst for institutional broker Finalto and its reta...

MCT is one of a handful of investment companies listed in London offering direct exposure to Canadian equities. Since launch in July 2006, it has delivered consistent annualised NAV total returns of over 7% a year, of which more than two thirds comes from dividends. Although the trust has a mandate that allows it to invest up to 40% of its portfolio in US equities, it is currently 100% invested in...

With a market capitalisation of almost £2bn, the WWH is the largest of several healthcare-focused investment companies listed in London. The company targets capital growth by investing across the healthcare spectrum, with just under a third of its portfolio in pharmaceutical companies, a fifth in biotechnology, a fifth in healthcare service providers and another fifth in healthcare equipment compa...

BSIF is the UK's oldest renewable energy investment company, celebrating 10 years of trading this year. Over that period, the company has delivered steady capital growth and dividends from an expanding portfolio of long-life solar assets in the UK, now made up of more than 750MW of operational solar generation. Total returns since inception stand at over 100%, and the company offers a handsome div...

VNH is one of three London-listed investment companies targeting the high-growth potential of frontier market Vietnam. Launched in 2006, VNH invests in high-growth companies in Vietnam, focusing on domestic consumption, industrialisation and urbanisation. Latest results show its concentrated approach helped it beat its benchmark in a difficult year for the country’s main index, which remains one o...

EDIN is a leading FTSE 250 Investment Trust which sits within the AIC UK Equity Income sector. The company is managed by James de Uphaugh and Chris Field with a focus on fundamental business research to create a diversified and high conviction portfolio of 40-50 investments. The managers are supported by an experienced team of investment analysts. The company does not have any in-built investment...

Managed by Ben Goldsmith, Luciano Suana and Graham Thomas and sitting withing the AIC’s Environmental sector, MHN is an investment trust focused on companies – both public and private – that “ are demonstrably delivering or benefiting significantly, from the efficient use of energy and resources. ” Key positions within the highly concentrated 16-holding portfolio include Alphabet (23.6%) and Micro...

PIN is a leading FTSE 250 private equity investment trust which invests in a diversified mix of direct private company investments and ‘invitation only’ funds across three primary sectors – digital, healthcare, and consumer non-discretionary. It's been around since 1987 and has a simple aim of making private equity - and associated returns - publicly available while maximising capital growth over...

API aims to provide an attractive level of income, alongside capital and income growth, by investing in a diversified portfolio of commercial property assets - currently more than half of the portfolio is held in industrial assets, partly reflecting the growth of logistics warehousing in the UK in recent years. The company has been managed by Jason Baggaley since 2006, and recent figures show it h...

TMPL is a £750m investment company established in 1926 that takes a value investing approach combined with deep fundamental research focused on establishing the ‘intrinsic value’ of potential investments. The trust has a fifth of its assets in the energy sector via holdings in BP, Shell and TotalEnergies, which reflects its approach to creating long-term growth by buying companies that have been o...

IEM's two decades of experience of investing in sustainability position it at the forefront of the burgeoning ESG investing industry. The investment company has delivered strong long-term returns, and despite a difficult year which has seen a softening of valuations among the growth-oriented companies in which it invests, its exposure to the secular trends supporting global Net Zero obligations sh...

FGT is one of the UK’s largest investment trusts, with a long-track record of delivering market beating returns from a concentrated portfolio of predominately UK equities. Its manager Nick Train is well known for his conviction approach – buying high-quality, income generating companies and holding them for the long-term. In this interview, Mr Train explains the thinking behind the company’s inves...

In this podcast John Hughman speaks to Tim Levene, manager of fintech investor Augmentum Fintech (AUGM), which features in our Summer and Thematic portfolios. The company is the only pure play fintech investor listed in London. Rising interest rates have had a significant impact on its share price performance this year, which has swung from a premium to a significant discount to Net Asset Value, b...