Kepler Trust Intelligence Podcast

Join Jo Groves, Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff and David Brenchley from Kepler Trust Intelligence for a roundup of all the news that matters to investment trust investors in July, brought to you in association with Schroders.  In the news, Ryan highlights the destination of former River UK Micro Cap (RMMC) manager George Ensor, as well as picking over the positive, and negative, news from International Public Partnerships (INPP). Before running through their recent half-year results, David provides a summary on RIT Capital Partners (RCP), including how the portfolio works. In the results, David highlights some of the portfolio changes, key contributors to performance and what’s happening with the dividend. Meanwhile, Ryan then covers the results in Schroder Real Estate Income (SREI) including what has happened in the past year and an update on the takeover of Picton Property.  Turning to podcasts, David recaps his chat with Matt Cable of Rights & Issues (RIII), which included a summary of the active versus passive debate, and more stats on the value opportunity within the UK smaller companies asset class. Sticking with David, he then goes through the highlights of his podcast with Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets (AWEM) including a discussion on how their SMID cap bias has fared in a weak environment for the asset class.  It was Jo’s turn to look over the most-bought trusts, which is again topped by Scottish Mortgage (SMT) although with a quick update on their SpaceX holding. Elsewhere, the lists see a welcome return of a few of the renewables trusts, potentially heralding a return. Jo also takes on stat of the month, which has a look at US valuations, particularly in the AI space and whether these really are a bubble or not? To close the show, we review what caught our eye over the summer, including what lessons David has picked up from the books he read over the summer, what Jo has learned from old papers unearthed in her house move and whether Ryan’s sleep deprivation has helped him get a handle on President Trump’s foreign policy. 00:00 Introduction  00:24 What’s to come 00:51 Ensor’s destination 02:15 INPP’s ups and downs 05:03 RIT Cap review & results 08:55 SREI results 10:48 RIII active vs passive 13:40 AWEM survives the SMID sell off 15:21 Renewables return to most bought 17:09 Not an AI bubble? 19:43 Our summer reads  26:35 Risk warning  Special thanks to our sponsors at Schroders, whose support makes this podcast possible - click here to view all of our research on the Schroders investment trust range. 

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Paul Daggett, co-manager of Neuberger Private Equity Partners, about the investment case for private equity, why he's seeing bright spots within NBPE's portfolio and how management assesses AI risk when investing. 00:00 Introduction 00:59 Bright spots in the performance of NBPE's underlying portfolio 02:41 How younger vintages are outperforming and why it's crucial to refresh the portfolio 05:25 What is a mid-life co-investment and why are they so attractive to NBPE today? 08:22 How NBPE's portfolio might look in five years' time 10:17 How much opportunity is there out there for new deals? 11:50 What are the three different types of co-investments? 13:25 Why the decision to increase in gearing came about 16:06 The outlook for realisation activity 18:07 How management assesses the risk of AI disruption to portfolio companies and new investments 21:38 The importance of diversification and why NBPE complements a portfolio of public equity funds 24:18 How much opportunity and innovation do you see within European private markets 25:18 Further information 25:45 Risk warning Our latest note on NBPE - https://www.trustintelligence.co.uk/investor/articles?fund_id=1 NBPE website - https://www.neubergerprivateequitypartners.com/en/ Please note that this podcast was recorded on 6 August 2026.

Join Jo Groves, Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff and David Brenchley from Kepler Trust Intelligence for a roundup of all the news that matters to investment trust investors in July, brought to you in association with Schroders. In the news, Ryan looks at the recent transfers in the investment trust management space, with changes at River UK Micro Cap (RMMC), as well as discussing a possible surprise announcement of who is taking over Golden Prospect Precious Metals (GPM). Next, he picks up on another dividend increase from Invesco Global Equity Income (IGET) and what this means in the context of wider changes, before going into a quick summary of the Picton Property (PCTN) takeover bids. David then starts off the results section with a look over the numbers from Greencoat UK Wind (UKW)’s interim results which includes an impressive total return figure. Elsewhere, Ryan discusses Hansa Investment Company (Hansa)’s annual report, and why this marks the beginning of a new chapter for the company. Moving on to podcasts, Jo summarised her chat with Marcel Stotzel from Fidelity European (FEV) including the prospects of an ongoing European renaissance and the region’s overlooked AI exposure. Later on, she discusses her chat with Richard Staveley of Rockwood Strategic (RKW) including where he is looking for new ideas. David takes care of both most-bought trusts, which includes a welcome return of BlackRock World Mining (BRWM), before turning his attention to stat of the month. This month, he focuses on cyclically adjusted valuations, including looking over some figures from Taiwan and Korea after their remarkable rallies. This, naturally, led into a discussion between the analysts of what they were buying and selling in their own portfolios. 00:00 Introduction 00:24 What’s to come 00:48 Manager changes at RMMC 02:31 Announcement of GPM manager 04:03 IGET sees another dividend rise 04:51 PCTN takeover approaches 05:44 UKW half-year results 07:27 Hansa’s transformative year 09:02 FEV’s views on Europe 11:29 Rockwood’s new opportunities 13:52 Most bought trusts 14:50 Stat of the month: CAPE 17:49 What are we buying? 23:18 Risk warning Special thanks to our sponsors at Schroders, whose support makes this podcast possible - click here to view all of our research on the Schroders investment trust range. This podcast was recorded on 04/08/2026.

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Marcel Stötzel, manager of Fidelity European, about the investment case for European equity sector, including the recent rally, the changing macro back-drop, positioning around AI and finding the most compelling opportunities across the sector. 00:00 Introduction 00:32 Drivers of the rally 02:34 Is Europe a global or regional play? 03:29 Is Europe cheap for a reason? 05:57 Impact of German fiscal change & defence spending 07:29 Narrowing down the universe 08:50 Key investment criteria 10:05 Balancing conviction with risk management 12:16 Average holding period 14:31 Most compelling opportunities & AI 18:55 Drivers of performance  22:10 Managing tariffs and oil prices 23:28 Key drivers over next year 25:31 Further information 25:50 Risk warning Our latest note on FEV & FEV website  Please note that this podcast was recorded on 16 July 2026.

In this episode, we speak to Thomas McMahon, Head of Investment Companies Research at Kepler Trust Intelligence, about the opportunity for investors in UK small-caps and BlackRock Smaller Companies in particular. We discuss the outlook for the sector, including recent performance and the economic backdrop, alongside BRSC’s investment strategy, recent merger and income credentials. 00:00 Introduction 00:25 Why invest in UK small-caps 02:48 Sector performance 04:00 Rationale for merger 04:50 Changes to fees and tender offers 05:37 Investment strategy 06:15 Portfolio construction 06:55 Risk management 07:45 Income credentials 08:32 Outlook for UK small-caps 09:20 Why invest in BRSC 10:17 Further information 10:38 Risk warning Our latest note on BRSC - https://www.trustintelligence.co.uk/investor/articles?fund_id=127 BRSC website - https://www.blackrock.com/uk/solutions/investment-trusts/our-range/blackrock-smaller-companies-investment-trust/trust-information Please note that this podcast was recorded on 1 July 2026.