Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust set to wind down

Following a poor period of performance, in 2024 the trust’s Board concluded that the continuation of the trust is not in shareholders’ best interest.

On 27 February 2025, shareholders voted in favour of changing the trust’s objective – to allow a managed wind down of the trust and realise all existing assets in its portfolio in a timely manner.

The trust mainly invests in higher-risk smaller, early-stage companies that are private and not listed on a stock market. These companies are typically less liquid than larger companies or those listed on a stock market, which means they can take longer to buy and sell. As a result, the Board hasn’t put a time scale on when the trust will close and aims to wind down the trust steadily over a reasonable timeframe.

This should allow the trust’s managers to balance returning cash to shareholders, with maximising the value of the trust’s assets, rather than being forced to sell at a heavy discount or low price. At the time of writing, the trust’s shares trade on a discount to NAV (Net Asset Value) of 43.33%.

The managers won’t make any new investments but may continue to invest in existing companies where they have a contractual arrangement or with the Board’s prior written approval.

The Board intends to allow investors to trade (buy and sell) the trust’s shares for as long as possible during this process. Once a significant portion of the trust’s assets have been sold, the board will propose formally liquidating the trust. This will require additional shareholder approval at the relevant time.