April's 10 most-bought trusts

The Woodford Patient Capital Trust was the most-bought investment trust in April despite only beginning to trade in the third week of the month, knocking Money Observer Rated Fund Scottish Mortgage off the top spot after a 14-month reign, according to data from Interactive Investor.

Managed by celebrity fund manager Neil Woodford, the Woodford Patient Capital Trust launched with £800 million of assets under management on 21 June, far exceeding its initial £200 million target.

The launch was the biggest ever investment trust listing on the London Stock Exchange despite the trust's mandate to invest in small and early stage companies. Following the launch Craig Newman, chief executive of Woodford Investment Management, insisted the trust's size would not affect its ability to invest in smaller companies.

Changing of the guard

"We needed to select an appropriate figure well within the level needed to manage the investment strategy and deploy capital in the one to two-year period outlined in the original prospectus. The board, in close consultation with Neil and his team, concluded that £800 million was the optimum figure," says Newman.

In the nine days between Woodford Patient Capital's initial listing and 1 May, the trust attracted nearly eight times the amount of assets attracted by former champion Scottish Mortgage through the Interactive Investor portal.

Global trust Scottish Mortgage was the second most-bought trust in April. Managed by Baillie Gifford veteran James Anderson alongside Tom Slater, the trust is the best performer in the AIC global sector over both one and three years and the second best over five and 10 years.

In the 10 years to 8 May this Money Observer Rated Fund has delivered an impressive 384% in share price returns compared to just 144% from the global sector, turning a £1,000 investment in May 2005 into £4,836.57 today.

Having re-orientated away from the UK towards higher-growth, higher-risk opportunities in 2000, Scottish Mortgage now invests heavily in US technology firms including well-known internet giants Facebook, Amazon and Google.

The third most-bought trust in April was Biotech Growth which, like all vehicles invested in biotechnology stocks, has enjoyed a stellar few years as the sector has surged. In the 10 years to 8 May the trust has returned a staggering 680% in share price returns, turning £1,000 into £7,789.60 over the period.

Money Observer Rated Fund Finsbury Growth & Income was the fourth most-bought trust in April, again due largely to some outstanding performance over the past 10 years. Managed by top-rated manager Nick Train since 2000, the trust is the best-performing UK equity income trust over one, five and 10 years and the second best over three years in share price terms.

European Success

Making its debut in the top 10 is fellow Money Observer Rated Fund European Assets, which was the sixth most-bought fund in April. Managed by F&C's Sam Cosh, European Assets has done remarkably well for a European smaller companies trust - managing to perform well in both up and down markets.

Like a number of European vehicles the trust has also benefited from a return of positive investor sentiment to Europe thanks to the European Central Bank's €1.1 trillion (£801.87 billion) quantitative easing programme, which has helped to boost European stock markets significantly over the past six months.

Fellow European trust and another Money Observer Rated Fund, Jupiter European Opportunities, was the seventh most-bought trust in April. Managed by the highly rated Alex Darwall, Jupiter European Opportunities is another top performer, having delivered first-quartile share price returns in four of the past five years to 8 May.

UK equity income trust City of London - also a Money Observer Rated Fund - was the eight most-bought trust in April thanks again to some solid performance alongside the company's 3.8% annual dividend yield, which it has grown every year for 48 years.

BlackRock World Mining fell from fourth most-bought trust in March to ninth in April as investors become less enticed by its 6.6% dividend yield and more convinced by it mounting losses and widening discount as both weak markets and internal asset write downs take their toll.

Money Observer Rated Fund Fidelity China Special Situations was the 10th most-bought fund, re-entering the table for the first time since December 2014. Launched by now-retired star manager Anthony Bolton in April 2010, Fidelity China Special Situations initially struggled in difficult markets and lost 23% in its first two years.

However, Fidelity China Special Situations has flourished under the care of new manager Dale Nicholls, who has delivered over 54% in share price returns since he took the trust over in April last year (13 months).

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.