Fundsmith to ditch Emerging Equities investment trust

Jason Hollands, Managing Director at investing platform Bestinvest, comments: It was very surprising news this morning to see the announcement below from the Board of Fundsmith Emerging Equities Trust that Terry Smith’s team have given notice that they intend to terminate their investment management agreement.

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Published: 14 Sept 2022 Updated: 05 Oct 2022

It is hard to think of a previous example, certainly in recent history, of a fund manager deciding to fire themselves from managing a portfolio earning them fees.

In the grand scheme of things though, the management of £319 million portfolio looks like a distraction for the firm whose flagship product, the developed market focused Fundsmith Equity fund, towers at £23.5 billion.

While the Board has stated it intends to seek a voluntary liquidation, it would not surprise me if in light of this surprising news they were approach by other asset managers who would readily pitch to manage the portfolio or other investment trusts who might be willing to explore a merger.