Coupland Cardiff trust raises £67m after lowering fees
The initial £200m target, which was accompanied by a stated minimum of £100m, was amended in a supplementary prospectus issued last Friday. The target amount was lowered to £100m, with a stated minimum of £50m.
The additional prospectus also extended the offer period and said the trust’s management fee, initially set at 0.9 per cent for assets up to £200m and 0.75 per cent thereafter, had been lowered to a flat fee of 0.75 per cent.
In November Coupland Cardiff announced plans to launch the high-conviction, long-only vehicle with manager Richard Aston at the helm.
Mr Aston already runs an open-ended equivalent to the trust, a factor which when combined with a sizeable target led one analyst to express scepticism over the company’s changes of success.
Coupland Cardiff said today it was satisfied by its fundraising efforts. Chief executive Richard Cardiff said: “We have been buoyed by the level of interest in the launch and very pleased to have raised £66m, particularly against a difficult geopolitical backdrop.”
Commenting on today’s announcement, Numis said the launch had come at a difficult time for certain investment trusts, but also predicted the company could grow if it performed well.
A note from the broker said: “It is increasingly difficult to launch new investment companies with equity mandates, particularly if there is a similar open-ended vehicle.
“In addition, most Japan focused investment companies are currently trading on a discount, albeit that CC Japan Income & Growth is differentiated by its income mandate.
“The fund’s small size means that it will be beneath the radar of many investors. However, there should be potential to grow over time if the managers can deliver strong performance.”
