How investment trusts have been affected by ‘liberation day’

Important information -  the value of investments and the income from them, can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest.

Investment trusts that own technology stocks have been the best performers since ‘liberation day’, when steep tariffs announced by Donald Trump precipitated sharp falls in American stock markets. 

Tech trusts have risen by an average of 11.5% since 3 April, the first day of trading following news of the tariffs, according to figures produced for Fidelity by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), the trusts’ trade body. The figures cover the period to 13 May. 

Past performance is not a guide to future returns and short-term performance is often volatile. But the data offers an interesting snapshot as to how investment trust sectors have been affected in an unusual period for the stock market.  

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The top performer among technology investment trusts was Manchester & London, whose shares rose by 15.5% over the period on a total return basis, which means any dividends are reinvested. Polar Capital Technology rose by 12.1% and Allianz Technology by 10%. Baillie Gifford US Growth, which has holdings in many American tech firms, gained 9.6% and Herald, which focuses on smaller tech companies, rose by 8.3%.  

Shares in American tech firms, which tend to dominate technology trusts, had fallen heavily in response to the announcement of the new tariffs so they rose sharply as Mr Trump toned down his plans and struck a trade deal with China. Many tech companies, such as Apple, rely heavily on Chinese suppliers. 

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But trusts that invest in British companies also performed well. The ‘UK All Companies’ sector rose on average by 10.5% over the period, the AIC’s figures show. The Mercantile trust performed best in the sector with a share price rise of 12.8%. Aurora UK Alpha gained 10.8% and Baillie Gifford UK Growth 9.2%, while Schroder UK Mid Cap rose by 8.6%. The London stock market had followed Wall Street down as investors worldwide feared the economic costs of the proposed tariffs so they too recovered well as Mr Trump watered down his liberation day regime. 

The same applies to the Private Equity sector, which was the third best performer with an average rise of 10.2%. Shares in 3i, the giant £40.9bn trust that dominates the sector, rose by 13.6%.

Trusts in the UK Smaller Companies sector, like their counterparts in the UK All Companies category, rose by 8.8% on average as a rising tide lifted all boats. The sector’s top performer was Athelney Trust thanks to a 12% rise in the shares. Aberforth Smaller Companies gained 10.7%, Rights & Issues 10.4% and Artemis UK Future Leaders 10.1%. Montanaro UK Smaller Companies, Henderson Smaller Companies, abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth and BlackRock Throgmorton rose by 9.7%, 9.2%, 9% and 8.9% respectively. BlackRock Smaller Companies gained 7.7%. 

Other sectors to perform well were European Smaller Companies (8.1% rise), Japan (6.3%), Europe (5.6%), Japanese Smaller Companies (5.4%), Global Smaller Companies (5.3%) and UK Equity Income (5.1%). Most other sectors also gained; the five exceptions included Leasing (down by 0.8% on average), China/Greater China (–2.9%) and Biotechnology & Healthcare (–2.9%). More details are in the table. 

The average gain among all investment trusts was 5.2%. 

Please be aware that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.  

Source: theaic.co.uk, Morningstar, 03.04.25 to 13.05.25 

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