Discount Delver: the 10 cheapest trusts on 27 March 2026

Investment trusts offer investors the chance of picking up 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.    

• Invest with ii: Buy Investment Trusts | Top UK Shares | Open a Trading Account

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. 

From bad to worse for 3i Group 

3i Group Ord (LSE:III) saw its massive premium evaporate in late 2025 as concerns grew about softer growth in France, and has continued to struggle so far this year.  

Those woes intensified yesterday, when an update from its main holding Action outlined plans to expand into the US market and shares dropped by around 15% in a day.

The shares traded at a discount of almost 25% at the close of trading, for once putting 3i Group in line with its heavily discounted private equity peer group.

• Unloved adventurous areas that warrant a closer look
• Insider Interview: my 30 years in emerging markets and why now’s a good entry point

Action noted that it had “completed an in-depth market study of the United States, which demonstrated clear potential for the Action format”. The company is looking to open its first US store by the end of 2027 or early 2028. 

Customers at interactive investor tended to buy into the shares when they slipped last year, and next week we will take an in-depth look at the case for (or against) jumping in now. 

Property back in the spotlight 

The rampant consolidation of property investment trusts shows no sign of letting up just yet, with Schroder Real Estate Invest Ord (LSE:SREI) and LondonMetric Property (LSE:LMP) this week confirming to the market that they were considering a possible bid for Picton Property Income Ltd Shs GBP (LSE:PCTN).

SREI shares have been sliding since then, even if that continues the general trajectory of the last month, landing it in this week’s table. Another property name, Custodian Property Income REIT Ord (LSE:CREI), sits in the table, if without any major news flow bar an update on a share buyback. 

On the consolidation front, it’s worth noting that we also saw AEW UK REIT Ord (LSE:AEWU) confirm that it was considering a bid for Alternative Income REIT Ord (LSE:AIRE). The former has also seen its discount widen, even if it doesn’t quite make it into this week’s table.

A mixed bag 

Plenty of trust share prices are in freefall thanks to recent market volatility, and it therefore makes sense that we see quite a mix of different trusts populating the rest of the table. 

Interestingly, we see Global Opportunities Trust Ord (LSE:GOT), a trust that has long expressed investment manager Sandy Nairn’s bearish views via a hefty cash position, moving out to a slightly bigger discount. 

The trust released its results in the last week, where the manager argued that “the real opportunities are yet to appear and we retain the dry powder accordingly”. The trust’s allocation to cash and other net assets came to a hefty 15.3% of the portfolio at the end of 2025. 

• Ian Cowie: the niche trust with a high and rising income
• The 2026 line-up of ‘next generation’ trust dividend heroes

Otherwise we see a combination of weak and strong performers making this week’s list without obvious news flow. 

Greencoat Renewables (LSE:GRP), one of the strongest-performing funds since the onset of hostilities in late February, saw its shares slip and its discount widen this week. 

On the other end of the spectrum we see CT UK High Income Ord (LSE:CHI) moving out to a double-digit discount. This mainly large-cap focused fund has been the worst performer in its UK Equity Income Association of Investment Companies (AIC) sector, by share price total return, since late February. 

There’s plenty of additional variety in the list, from the presence of activist vehicle AVI Japan Opportunity Ord (LSE:AJOT) to Baillie Gifford’s Schiehallion Fund Ord (LSE:MNTN) and abrdn Diversified Income & Growth Ord (LSE:ADIG), which is in the late stages of a wind-down.

With markets continuing to tumble, adventurous investors are almost spoiled for choice. 

Source: Morningstar, close of trading 19 March to 26 March 2026.