A group of leading fund managers and financiers are joining forces to launch a fee-free investment trust that will support cancer charities.
The Battle Against Cancer Investment Trust (Bacit) will primarily support the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). It wants to raise £250m from investors when it launches on the London Stock Exchange later this month and is marketing its shares to ordinary investors at a minimum stake of £1,000.
The trust will invest in long-only funds, hedge funds, private equity funds and real estate funds. The fund managers that it uses will not charge a fee for their services. Instead, 1 per cent of the trust's NAV will be donated annually to charity with half donated to the ICR and half donated to the BACIT Foundation, which supports cancer charities voted for each year by the trust's investors.
The opening NAV is expected to be 98.7p, assuming £250m is raised. It is anticipated that, on an ongoing basis, the company should have an annualised total expense ratio of between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent of NAV. The ratio will rise if the fund launches with less money.
The trust will target an ambitious annual return in the range of 10 to 15 per cent.
The trust's founder is Tom Henderson, a former Cazenove and Moore Capital veteran whose father was a former chairman of the ICR. Jeremy Tigue, who manages the UK's oldest investment trust, Foreign & Colonial, will be chairman of Bacit's directors.
Although this launch has significant support from the investment industry, investors should note that a previous attempt at a charity fund launch failed a few years ago. The Invest & Give trust was launched in 2009 to support Prince's Trust charities. It had support from prominent fund managers but was forced to wind up after failing to attract enough money from investors.
An alternative way to donate fund money to charity is via a new 'non-advised' charitable investment service. INVESTaid offers DIY investors access to top brands and leading fund managers on the Cofunds platform at discounted prices with the facility to donate to their favourite charities at no extra cost.
