Nick Train spent £2.4m of his own money buying shares in the Finsbury Growth and Income trust in the year to the end of January 2019, according to the annual results of the fund management company.
The £2.4m is less than he spent on new shares in the year to the end of January 2018, when he and family members spent more than £4m on new shares.
Mr Train bought the £2.4m shares between February 1, 2018 and January 31, 2019, having managed the trust since 2000. The share purchases relate both to Mr Train directly and to members of his family.
The £1.7bn trust is the absolute top performer in the AIC UK Equity Income sector over the past year to June 10, returning 12 per cent, while the average trust in the sector has lost 3 per cent.
Investment management fee income at Lindsell Train Ltd, the fund house co-founded by Nick Train, rose by 39 per cent to £84.5m in the year to the end of January 2019.
The fee income comprised £76.3m in annual management fees and £8.1m in performance fees. The total fee income for the prior year was £60m. Total funds under management was £16.3bn.
The firm receives income for managing the Finsbury Growth and Income trust, The Lindsell Train UK Equity fund, The Lindsell Train Global Equity fund and the Lindsell Train Investment trust.
The Lindsell Train UK Equity fund has grown to more than £7bn in size and has returned 82 per cent over the past five years, compared with 28 per cent for the average fund in the IA Global sector in the same time period.
The Lindsell Train Global Equity fund has assets of £7.9bn (June 10) and has returned 70 per cent over the past three years, compared with 28 per cent for the sector average.
Michael Lindsell, fund manager and co-founder of the business, said he was conscious that the assets under management of the firm have risen stoutly in recent years and that he is determined to prevent the performance of the funds to dip as they get bigger.
Profits at the firm were 46 per cent higher at £55m.
Mr Train and Mr Lindsell own stakes of more than 25 per cent in the firm, while investors in the Lindsell Train investment trust, which is also run by the firm, own a 24 per cent stake of the total.
The highest paid director received £8.1m in pay during the year, while total director remuneration was £19m.
A representative of Lindsell Train refused to comment on who of the directors received the £8.1m payout.
david.thorpe@ft.com
