With founder membership available for £20 (£10 for those aged under 35) the initiative is seeking to attract those who have not previously invested. While becoming a founder does not include a subscription offer for shares, founders will benefit from discounted charges if they invest once the trust launches.
The People’s Trust is targeting annual returns of 7 per cent over a seven-year timeline. It plans to allocate 1 per cent of assets to social impact investments, and collaborate with investees with a socially responsible outlook, as well as work to curb the culture of bonus payments for executives.
Co-founded by Daniel Godfrey, former chief executive of Investment Association, the trust has selected Willis Towers Watson as board advisers to oversee manager selection and monitoring. Potential fund managers include First State Investments.
Owned by customers, for customers, the fund’s aim to ensure better returns will be fuelled by its “long-term, high-conviction, low-turnover, high-engagement investment central proposition”, Mr Godfrey said.
It seeks to facilitate longer-term investment approaches among customers, while avoiding structural barriers in the financial services industry.
www.thepeoplestrust.co.uk
With founder membership available for £20 (£10 for those aged under 35) the initiative is seeking to attract those who have not previously invested. While becoming a founder does not include a subscription offer for shares, founders will benefit from discounted charges if they invest once the trust launches.
The People’s Trust is targeting annual returns of 7 per cent over a seven-year timeline. It plans to allocate 1 per cent of assets to social impact investments, and collaborate with investees with a socially responsible outlook, as well as work to curb the culture of bonus payments for executives.
Co-founded by Daniel Godfrey, former chief executive of Investment Association, the trust has selected Willis Towers Watson as board advisers to oversee manager selection and monitoring. Potential fund managers include First State Investments.
Owned by customers, for customers, the fund’s aim to ensure better returns will be fuelled by its “long-term, high-conviction, low-turnover, high-engagement investment central proposition”, Mr Godfrey said.
It seeks to facilitate longer-term investment approaches among customers, while avoiding structural barriers in the financial services industry.
www.thepeoplestrust.co.uk
Review:
Many fund managers promise to prioritise the interests of consumers, but not all prove to be successful or sincere. However, Daniel Godfrey does have a better track record than some peers in committing to this philosophy.
The People’s Trust seems to mirror Mr Godfrey’s financial services ethos – at the Investment Association he called for more transparency around charges in the asset management industry, and investors will welcome a similar approach here.
While the trust has yet to be launched, with more than half of its £100,000 development costs target raised in less than a fortnight, it is safe to say an initial public offering does look likely in early 2017.
Though the trust plans to adhere to a more ethical approach to investing, for example, by swapping executive bonuses for partial salary payments in seven-year shares, it is the fund’s investment performance that will ultimately define its success.
The long-term nature of the investment strategy does give the trust room to underperform in the short term.
The People’s Trust looks an interesting prospect, but investors should wait to see if the investment managers chosen to run the portfolio meet their requirements before rushing in.
