Seeking strength in numbers
Witan is the only fully multi-managed global equity investment trust– howdoes this approach work?
CREATED in 1909 to manage the estate of the first Lord Farringdon and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1924, Witan Investment Trust plc has a rich heritage, but, in 2004, it took a newdirection. Appointing its first independent CEO, Witan becamea self-managed investment company and adopted a multi-manager approach, selecting investment managers with different styles and specialisations.
‘If you choose one manager, however good they are, they will tend to play to a certain theme and that might work very well in some market conditions and less well in others,’ explains Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Witan since 2010. ‘Part of our purpose in choosing a selection of managers is to smooth out some of those
‘We choose people based on what they’re good at’
peaks and troughs in performance. It’s also our objective to choose people based on what they’re good at. Someone who’s good with UK equities might not have global expertise, so we choose specialists. Perhaps more importantly in a year like 2015, when the markets didn’t really go up very much, our managers pick stocks for their individual merits. The more selective you are in choosing your portfolio, the greater chance you have of bucking volatility in the market.’
Witaninvestsitsshareholders’ fundsprimarily in a broad geographical spread of global equity markets and aims to profit from opportunities created by global economic growth, generating long-term capital growth together with an income that rises faster than the rate of inflation. The company’s savings schemes, which are managed by Witan Investment Services Ltd, includewitanwisdom and Jump Savings for children.
To find out more about Witan’s active multi-manager strategya nd howitmight work within your investment portfolio, telephone 0800 082 8180 or visit www. witan.com