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Oakley Capital Investments: "We can still unearth value"

Steven Tredget tells Dave Baxter about the fund's next moves
March 18, 2021
  • Oakley Capital Investments has performed extremely well, but its shares continue to trade at a wide discount to NAV
  • Private equity investment trusts can trade at wide discounts because of a perceived lack of transparency 
  • The trust invests in three main areas – technology, education and consumer

Much like the short sellers embroiled in the GameStop (US:GME) saga, private equity firms have been easy to vilify in recent years. In the UK, even the investment community seems unenthusiastic about the sector. Bar exceptions such as 3i (III) and HgCapital Trust (HGT), shares in private equity investment trusts have tended to trade at deep discounts to net asset value (NAV).

Some of this may relate to legacy performance issues: some names in the sector had committed substantial amounts to their investments as they came into the global financial crisis, leaving them in deep trouble. Logistical issues can also prove unnerving: there tends to be a lengthy delay on NAV updates by private equity trusts, making it harder to see how they are handling the pandemic.

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