Discount Delver: the 10 cheapest trusts on 26 June 2026

Investment trusts offer a potential bargain thanks to their closed-ended structure. That happens when a trust’s share price is lower than the value of its underlying investments (the net asset value, or NAV).         

However, a trust trading on a discount to NAV is not necessarily a buying opportunity. There’s likely a good reason why the trust is cheap, such as subdued short- or long-term performance, or poor investor sentiment towards it.        

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In this weekly series, interactive investor highlights the 10 biggest investment trust discount moves over the past week.      

In total, nearly 400  investment trusts have been screened, with the data sourced from Morningstar. Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) have been excluded. We also strip out trusts with less than £30 million in assets and those that are not available on the interactive investor platform.

Private assets in the crosshairs

Investment trusts focused on private assets of different stripes saw their discounts widen this week, thanks to a combination of nervy markets and more specific issues.

Markets in the UK, US and elsewhere have had some big ups and downs in the last week amid a variety of possible challenges, from the prospect of interest rates staying higher to uncertainty about affairs in the Middle East and questions about the durability of the artificial intelligence (AI) trade.

That might explain why some  investment trusts have seen their discounts widen, having already been under pressure this year. 

There’s software as a service play HgCapital Trust Ord (LSE:HGT) as well as Oakley Capital Investments Ord (LSE:OCI), which has material exposure to software even if it’s much more diversified by sector. 

There’s also Chrysalis Investments Limited Ord (LSE:CHRY), which has exposure to names like Starling and Klarna Group (NYSE:KLAR) and is in the process of winding down, plus the racy Space Exploration Technologies Corp Class A (NASDAQ:SPCX) holder Schiehallion Fund Ord (LSE:MNTN).

The Baillie Gifford-managed trust has seen its shares slip in the last week, in line with something of a slump for SpaceX shares.

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Specific problems for Partners and NextEnergy

If these moves might be attributed to sentiment, there are more specific issues elsewhere. 

Partners Group Private Equity Ord (LSE:PEY) this week proposed a dual share class system where up to 30% of its portfolio would go into realisation shares, seeking to return cash to shareholders.

This reflects broader problems in the sector, as the trust struggles with weak performance and a big discount.

As the board put it this week: “Across the listed private equity investment trust sector, persistent discounts and a shrinking investor base have become inherent challenges.

“For several years, many vehicles have struggled to convert portfolio value into shareholder value, as weak sentiment towards private equity, subdued performance, inability to raise new capital and discount-driven arbitrage have kept share prices below NAV. 

“In this environment, a more structural response is needed, one that gives shareholders greater choice over how they wish to proceed with their investment.”

If shareholders approve the proposal, those opting to hold the continuation shares would experience business as usual.

Renewable gloom returns

Elsewhere in the table we see a renewable energy infrastructure trust yet again giving its investors a headache. 

NextEnergy Solar Ord (LSE:NESF), which cut its dividend earlier this year as part of a strategic reset, released full-year results pointing to a big NAV fall over the 12 months to the end of March.

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The board has acknowledged the challenges facing the trust but called for shareholders to back it at a continuation vote, due at its annual general meeting later this year.

“A discontinuation of the company would involve a forced sale of assets, which the board believes is likely to be value-destructive in the current market and would not be in shareholders’ best interests,” it said.

The trust’s “reset” involves targeted asset disposals, the deployment of cash into higher-yielding assets in areas such as energy storage, measures to enhance value from the existing portfolio, and attempts to improve the trust’s finances (including the dividend cut and debt reduction). The trust said progress had already been made on this front, from it having paid down some debt to concluding lease extension negotiations on some of its assets. 

Source: Morningstar, close of trading 17 June to 24 June 2026.