Hedge fund Saba's Weinstein steps up campaign against UK investment trusts (updated)

Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund

10/02/2025 16:53

(Adds names of trusts, more detail in paragraph 3)
    By Nell Mackenzie
       LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Saba Capital Management has
added more UK investment trusts to its activist campaign and
plans to further shake up the sector,  the hedge fund's founder
Boaz Weinstein told a London School of Economics conference on
Monday.
    Saba is waging a campaign to overhaul seven British
investment trusts over performances it has said ranged from
"underwhelming" to "disastrous".
    Weinstein on Monday said he now plans to call general
meetings in four UK investment trusts to vote on whether they
should transition from a closed ended structure to a comparable
open-ended one, where shares can be issued and redeemed at any
time. 
    "If investors want to stay in the investment trust, good for
them, but investors should have the option," said Weinstein. 
    The four funds include: CQS Natural Resources Growth &
Income PLC  CYNL.L , European Smaller Companies Trust PLC
 ESCT.L , Middlefield Canadian Income  MCT_p.L  and Schroder UK
Mid Cap Fund  SCP.L .     
    Shareholders would remain invested in the same strategy with
the same manager, but in an open ended fund, said Weinstein. 
    Weinstein said that since he launched his UK campaign in
2024, his campaign related fund had seen record inflows. Saba
Capital Management oversees several different strategies,
including activism.  
    With the new investor money, Weinstein said he would
continue to add to his current UK activist campaign. 
    The trusts have publicly hit back in recent weeks, dubbing
Saba's campaign opportunistic and not in the interests of
broader shareholders. 
    Six of the seven trusts' shareholders have voted against
Weinstein's proposals which have ranged from buying investors
out of the funds to board overhauls. The last of seven UK
investment trusts targeted by Saba's activist campaign,  –
Edinburgh Worldwide – votes on Friday.     

 (Reporting by Nell Mackenzie; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)
 ((Nell.Mackenzie@thomsonreuters.com;;))