North American Income trust ditches Abrdn as manager

The North American Income trust has ditched Abrdn as its portfolio manager, instead appointing Janus Henderson to manage it.

The trust’s portfolio manager since 2012, Fran Radano, will move from Abrdn to Janus Henderson, and will be supported by the firm’s US equities team.

The North American Income trust launched in 1997, and has had somewhat lacking performance in recent years, growing 23.6 per cent over five years compared to a sector average of 161.4 per cent growth.

Janus Henderson will take over the running of the trust in the third quarter of this year, subject to the passing of the continuation vote by its shareholders.

The new arrangement will see the fees cut on the trust, with Janus Henderson charging a management fee of 0.55 per cent annually on assets up to £500m and 0.45 per cent after that.

This compared to Abrdn’s structure of charging 0.75 per cent annually on assets up to £250m, then 0.6 per cent between £250-500m, and 0.5 per cent after.

Numis said this would drop overall fees from 0.68 per cent to 0.55 per cent, saving around £600,000 a year for investors.

Janus Henderson has also agreed to contribute to the costs of changing manager by waiving fees for up to three months.

The change came following an “extensive review” of the trust’s existing management agreement which saw engagement with a variety of asset managers.

The move is a “positive development for all stakeholders,” argued Winterflood analyst Shavar Halberstadt, due to the strong support resources as Janus along with the fee reduction.

“We rate the manager’s stock-picking ability, and at a 14 per cent discount we continue to see scope for a re-rating as market sentiment towards equity income mandates improves,” he added.

The news makes a poor week for Abrdn’s investment trusts, after its Asia Dragon trust was targeted on Tuesday for a hostile takeover by the tiny Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets.