War on investor democracy: Saba's assault on UK trusts should never have been allowed to happen, says ALEX BRUMMER
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This week the Prime Minister was out banging the drum for an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution in Britain. It is paradoxical that Herald Investment Trust, which prides itself on tech discovery and AI, faces an existential threat in the next few days.
It is the first of the seven quoted investment vehicles targeted by US activist Boaz Weinstein and Saba Capital to face a shareholder vote that could see the 30-year-old trust, with a stonking record of returns for investors, assaulted and dismantled.
It is not ‘jingoistic’, as Weinstein has clumsily claimed, to defend solid UK investment groups. Several have enviable track records and are held for long-term returns. It is appalling that the defences of the trusts, against defenestration of independent boards and liquidation of growth assets, is so frail.
Neglect of the sector by regulators at the misfiring Financial Conduct Authority, and impenetrable voting barriers, are being exploited to the detriment of private investors. Trust me: US hedge fund Saba Capital, run by the aggressive activist investor Boaz Weinstein (pictured) has set its sights on seven UK investment trusts calling for major shake-ups.
For private investors in Herald, who hold their stock on platforms run by firms such as AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and smaller players, today is the last chance to save Herald by registering to vote. Information about Saba’s intentions, as it built a 29.9 per cent stake in Herald, has been woefully poor.
