Bankers Investment Trust: July 2026 update

• Veteran manager Alex Crooke will retire at the end of 2026

• The trust’s dividend increased for the 59th successive year

• Returns over the long term have been attractive

How it fits in a portfolio

Bankers Investment Trust was founded in 1888. It aims to grow capital over the longer term by investing in companies from around the globe, while also growing dividends above the rate of inflation. The trust’s focus on cash generation means that it typically invests in more established companies from developed regions like the US, Europe, and Japan, but also invests in higher-risk emerging markets. Although the trust aims to provide a growing dividend, the focus on capital growth means that it could provide balance to a diversified portfolio alongside other funds or trusts that invest primarily for income.

Investors in closed-ended funds should be aware that the trust can trade at a discount or premium to Net Asset Value (NAV).

Manager

Alex Crooke is a member of the Global Equity Income team at Janus Henderson and has managed the trust since June 2003. A graduate of Manchester University, Crooke started his career in 1990 as a US equities analyst for Equitable Life Assurance Society. He joined Henderson (now Janus Henderson) in 1994 and previously served as Head of Equities – EMEA & Asia Pacific.

Richard Clode became co-manager of the trust in September 2025. His investment career began in 2003 at Herald Investment Management. Clode joined the Global Technology Leaders team at Henderson in 2014 and has managed funds since 2017.

The duo has plenty of resource at their disposal, with Janus Henderson’s large team of fund managers and analysts able to help generate investment ideas for the trust.

Crooke has announced that he wi’ll retire from the industry at the end of 2026, after which Clode will be the trust’s sole manager.

Process

The fund managers look to invest in companies with established business models that are able to generate plenty of cash. Companies can use this cash to invest in future growth or provide a dividend. Although this trust isn’t focused on providing an income, the managers believe that companies that grow dividends steadily over time have interests that are better aligned with those of shareholders.

The managers recently changed the structure of how the trust invests in order to allow them to invest more in their best ideas. The trust was previously split into four regional sleeves: Europe (including UK), North America, Japan, and Asia Pacific, with each sleeve having its own dedicated manager and Crooke responsible for deciding how much to invest in each region. Although the regional managers no longer have responsibility for choosing which companies the trust invests in, Crooke and Clode continue to use their expertise for insights and ideas.

The trust also now invests in fewer companies. The managers have reduced the number of investments to the region of 60 to 80, having previously invested in more than 150 different companies. We understand the reasons for making these changes, and we don’t expect the trust to behave differently going forwards.

Most is invested in the US, which accounts for 65.0% of the trust at the end of May 2026. The next largest investments are in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan and China) at 10.6%, and Japan at 9.8%. From a sector perspective, technology companies make up 39.0% of the trust. Industrials and financials are the next largest sectors.

As part of the changes made to the trust in the past year, the managers have invested more in technology companies. The managers bought leading US semiconductor businesses Nvidia and Micron, as well as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Streaming platforms Netflix and Spotify were also added to the trust.

Investments sold from the trust include healthcare companies Boston Scientific and Roche. The managers also sold their investments in Nike and Walt Disney, as they view the future prospects of the companies less favourably.

The trust has flexibility to use gearing (borrowing to invest) which, if used, adds risk. Gearing at the end of May 2026 stood at 5%. The managers can also use derivatives, which increases risk.

Culture

Bankers Investment Trust was established in 1888 and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It’s managed by Janus Henderson Investors, a large investment firm with offices all over the world. The firm was formed in 2017 from the merger of two long-established groups – US-based Janus Capital Group and Henderson Global Investors.

They value experience, so fund managers at the group have on average more than two decades of investment experience. Sharing knowledge and ideas between investment teams is an important part of the culture. Managers have the flexibility to tap into the wider group’s resources for ideas and insights but also have the freedom to do their own research and form their own views without having a ‘house view’ placed on them.

ESG Integration

Janus Henderson aims to be a responsible steward of investors’ money, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is an important part of this. All fund managers have access to ESG scoring models and customised ESG research, but the firm believes that ESG considerations should go beyond examining numbers. Company site visits, speaking to workers, and questioning company management are just some of the ways that fund managers are expected to actively assess a company’s ESG credentials.

Investment teams across Janus Henderson actively engage with the companies they invest in, and the firm’s longstanding Responsible Investment & Governance team provides centralised support on voting and engagement.

When it comes to voting, Janus Henderson has a Proxy Voting Committee, which is responsible for establishing the firm’s position on major voting issues and creating guidelines overseeing the voting process. The Committee is composed of representatives from various business areas, including portfolio management, corporate governance, accounting, legal, and compliance. The firm’s full proxy voting records are published annually, although no rationale is provided. There is more detail on voting and engagement, including case studies, in the firm’s annual Responsibility report.

Although this trust isn’t focused on sustainability, the managers integrate ESG into their process and believe that it can be a long-term risk to a company.

Cost

The ongoing annual charge over the trust’s financial year to 31 October 2025 was 0.51%. This is the same as in the previous year. Investors should refer to the latest annual reports and accounts, and Key Information Document for further details of the risks and charging structure.

The annual charge to hold investment trusts in the HL ISA, SIPP, or Fund & Share Account is 0.35% (capped at £150 p.a. in each account) and 0.25% in the HL Lifetime ISA (capped at £45 p.a.). There are no charges from HL to hold investment trusts within the HL Junior ISA. As investment trusts trade like shares, both a buy and sell instruction will be subject to the HL share dealing charges.

Performance

The trust has performed well over Alex Crooke’s time as manager. Since July 2003, share price returns of 993.99%* are ahead of the average trust in the AIC Global peer group, which returned 870.55%. Past performance isn’t a guide to the future.

During the 12 months to the end of June 2026, the trust’s NAV grew 28.23% and had share price returns of 27.86%. Both were comfortably ahead of the 16.40% peer group average. Investments in the technology sector were the largest contributors to performance. Companies like Broadcom, Amphenol, and Korea’s SK Hynix benefited from increased spending in artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Investments that didn’t perform as well include software company Intuit and luxury consumer business Hermes. Financials companies Progressive Corp and Deutsche Boerse also detracted from performance.

With Crooke stepping down at the end of 2026, the trust may perform differently under new management. Richard Clode has established a solid track record managing a technology fund at Janus Henderson. This fund has outperformed peers during his tenure but is a fund focused on a single sector.

The trust’s dividend per share for the previous financial year, to the end of October 2025, was 2.744p. This was a 2.1% increase from the previous year and marked the 59^th consecutive year of growth, making the trust an AIC ‘dividend hero’. Income isn’t guaranteed, and yields aren’t a reliable indicator of future income. The level of income paid will change over time. At the time of writing, the trust yields 1.86%.

The trust currently trades at a discount of 8.84%, having traded at an average discount of 8.6% over the past year.