Edinburgh-based investment manager Baillie Gifford has cut the fees on four of the trusts it manages, which the company believes will save investors in each fund £100,000.
The company said it had cut the fees on the Edinburgh Worldwide trust, Pacific Horizon trust, Baillie Gifford Japan trust, and Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon.
The trusts follow a tiered approach based on total assets. Baillie Gifford is reducing the fees for the opening tier of assets from 0.95 per cent to 0.75 per cent.
The changes mean the first £50m of net assets will incur a charge of 0.75 per cent; on the next £200 million of net assets the charge is 0.65 per cent and 0.55 per cent on assets beyond £250m.
James Budden, director of retail marketing and distribution at Baillie Gifford, said: "The fee reduction for these trusts is part of our commitment to offer value for money to investors.
"Our trusts have seen strong asset growth and have been busy issuing new equity. We are keen to pass on the benefits of increased scale to shareholders where possible."
All four of the trusts have outperformed their sector over the past three years, with the £500m Shin Nippon trust doing particularly well, returning 116 per cent compared to its sector, the AIC Japanese Smaller Companies, which returned 70 per cent.
Jason Hollands, managing director for business development and communications at wealth manager Tilney, said: "This is welcome news and the tiered fee structure is an inherent recognition that scale should bring benefits for shareholders.
"It would be encouraging to see other trusts adopt such an approach, so let’s hope this announcement gets other trusts thinking."
david.thorpe@ft.com
