With markets currently back on an upward trend, investment trust fundraising has shown some nascent signs of a recovery. The Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets Trust (AWEM) managed to get its initial public offering (IPO) off the ground in April, helping to break a trend that saw not a single trust launch in 2022. It follows on the heels of UK small-cap play Onward Opportunities (ONWD) launching a few weeks ago – though shares in the latter were not marketed or made available to the public.
But I do use the word “nascent” for a reason. The Ashoka trust might be the first mainstream offering to launch since late 2021, and the first equity-focused vehicle to do so since 2018, but it’s a modest enough beginning. The IPO took £30.5mn, versus a target of £100mn. That’s certainly not unusual – equity-focused trusts, in particular, are rare for a reason, and do struggle to raise significant funds at first unless associated with a big-name manager. But it doesn’t suggest confidence has come roaring back just yet.