JPMorgan Global Growth & Income plc (JGGI) has completed its merger with The Scottish Investment Trust PLC, bringing together two of the oldest investment trusts in the sector, having both been incorporated in 1887, and creating an entity with net assets in excess of £1.3 billion (€1.5 billion).
The deal also represents the second-largest combination of two independent investment companies to date.
Following the transaction, JGGI will seek to pay shareholders an income of at least 4% per annum while accessing exposure to the long-term growth of the world’s leading companies.
JGGI’s dividend policy allows for income to be paid from revenue and capital reserves – a feature of the investment trust structure. JP Morgan said the structure would offer managers more freedom in selecting investment opportunities because dividends are not reliant on the income generated by underlying investments.
Tristan Hillgarth, chairman at JGGI, said: “Today’s news represents an exciting milestone for both groups of shareholders, [which] should benefit from the greater scale, enhanced liquidity and competitive fees of the Trust. JGGI, which recently entered the FTSE250, has consistently provided investors with strong relative and absolute performance in spite of recent market volatility.”
“We are positive that the newly combined trust will continue to grow and serve shareholders’ interests for many years to come,” he added.
The merger was approved by Scottish Investment Trust shareholders on 22 August following an initial agreement in October 2021. In March, the Edinburgh-based trust delayed the merger owing to slow progress within its debt workstreams.
Timothy Woodhouse, investment manager at JGIG, added: “While the outlook for global markets remains uncertain, we are confident that JGGI’s style-agnostic, bottom-up approach will help navigate market turbulence.”
“For us, it is all about remaining diligent to our process and partnering with our global network of more than 80 analysts to support our global search for great businesses which generate superior returns and outperformance over the long term,” he said.
Over 2022 to the end of August, JGGI delivered a NAV total return of +0.9% compared to its benchmark’s return of -3.6%, according to data from Bloomberg.
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