Funds and trusts four pros are buying and selling: Q1 2026

At the start of 2026, the FTSE 100 entered a new era by breaking into five-figure territory for the first time in its history.

At the time of publication (the morning of 20 January), it continues to hover above 10,000, although US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on the UK and other European nations that have opposed his bid to take over Greenland, has caused a pick-up in volatility and sent the UK’s premier index lower.

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Elsewhere, gold and silver continue to extend their rallies, as investors seek refuge from geopolitical uncertainty.

Another key concern is a potential “AI bubble”, as global markets’ trajectory hinges on whether artificial intelligence investment can continue to deliver productivity gains.

Against this backdrop, our fund-of-funds investors continue to take a range of approaches to portfolio positioning.

They currently favour globally oriented strategies. Interestingly, two of our multi-managers have sold their holding in the Schroder Emerging Markets Val Z GBP Acc fund following the departure of the managers.

Each quarter, our multi-manager panel shares their current bull and bear perspectives, along with the funds and investment trusts they have recently bought, added to, or sold.

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Simon Evan-Cook, manager of the Downing Fox Funds

Reason to be bullish: if fears about AI overspend creating overcapacity prove right, then this would at least be good news for all the non-AI companies (i.e., most companies) that will be able to access game-changing technological capabilities at a knock-down price.

Reason to be bearish: there are few signs of the “vibecession” ending; the mood seems to be relentlessly bleak and is feeding on itself. While this hasn’t caused an actual recession yet, it continues to keep a lid on potential growth.

Nothing bought: there were no new additions for Evan-Cook this quarter, although he is continually looking to upgrade the quality of his holdings. There’s no particular style he prefers over any other right now. “On the one hand, value funds are performing well, and we’re happy to have a healthy exposure to them,” he says.“But on the other hand, quality funds have been beaten up, but their stocks are now looking cheaper and might hold up well in the next bear market.”

Increased: Evan-Cook and his team have added to their position in Redwheel Global Intrinsic Value R GBP Acc. “We initially bought this fund back in the summer – it’s an experienced team albeit with a previous focus limited to the UK,” he says. His conviction has since grown in the fund’s global credentials, which has encouraged him to build up the position’s size.

Sold: he sold his position in Schroder Emerging Market Value after Schroders removed the fund’s managers, via an announcement made at the start of October. “This fund was absolutely flying and looked set to become a lucrative sector favourite with fund buyers, making this appear – from the outside – like a bizarre decision,” says Evan-Cook.

Adam Norris, co-portfolio manager, CT Global Managed Portfolio Trust

Reason to be bullish: US economic growth remains resolute, underpinned by both government and corporate capital expenditure. Potentially falling oil prices may create further disinflationary pressures and give room for additional interest rate cuts.

Reason to be bearish: geopolitics can occasionally destabilise markets, particularly if investors perceive market multiples to be expensive.

Bought: Norris has bought the Invesco Global Equity Income Trust ord (LSE:IGET), which has a focus on quality companies trading at attractive prices. The trust, managed by Henley-based Stephen Anness and Joe Dowling, focuses on cash-flow growth to support the ability of companies to provide not just income, but also capital growth to investors. The portfolio is focused, with just 40 shares held.

“The portfolio managers take an agnostic approach to the benchmark, which has itself become more and more concentrated over recent years,” says Norris.

He points out that the trust has a high active share as the team focus on bottom-up security selection, and a diligent focus on absolute risk, rather than relative to the benchmark.The company makes use of reserves to augment the natural 2%-3% income yield to a 4% dividend yield target, based on its year-end net asset value (NAV).

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Increased: Norris has added to his position in the Schiehallion Fund Ord (LSE:MNTNl), a late-stage private equity investment company managed by Baillie Gifford. “The company has had a tricky few years as late-stage growth investing moved sharply out of favour,” he says.

However, Norris now sees clear “winners” of the fund’s investment approach, with some of its largest holdings, namely Elon Musk’s SpaceX (circa 14% portfolio) and digital acquisition-focused Bending Spoons (c.15% portfolio), achieving valuation levels rarely found within private equity. “With the IPO market potentially warming up once again, the Schiehallion Fund contains valuable assets which may potentially be revalued further into a public market listing,” says Norris.

Sold: he fully sold his holding in Personal Assets Ord (LSE:PNL) Trust, a multi-asset investment trust managed by Troy Asset management. “We have a lot of appreciation for portfolio managers, Charlotte Yonge and Sebastian Lyon, who have a strong focus on capital preservation, utilising assets such as inflation-linked bonds and gold,” says Norris. However, his central view is that corporate profitability continues to be underpinned by strong economic growth, and as a result, he currently prefers risk assets, such as public and private equity.

Headquarters of private company Space X in Hawthorne, California. Source: Sundry Photography.

Vincent Ropers, co-manager of IFSL Wise Multi-Asset Growth & IFSL Wise Multi-Asset Income

Reason to be bearish: despite sticky inflation, economic growth is likely to remain decent, supported by increasing fiscal stimulus, particularly in the US and Europe, and loose monetary policy.

Reason to be bullish: a large part of the economic resilience of late has been supported by the AI boom, however, and weakness in that sector could prove costly for growth. Equally, geopolitical tensions and increasing political uncertainty have the potential to change trends dramatically.    

Bought: Ropers has created a new position in CVC Income & Growth GBP (LSE:CVCG), a loan manager known for due diligence discipline and a strong default-avoidance track record. While the investment trust is small, at just over £200 million market capitalisation, it leverages off the broader platform at CVC, which is the largest loan manager in Europe.

The trust offers a diversified source of income and capital growth via a portfolio of loans to large companies well spread out across sectors and regions. “We think this is an appealing addition to our portfolio at a time when valuations elsewhere might be questionable,” says Ropers.

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Increased: after a period of strong performance for risk assets, Ropers gradually reinvested profits in more defensive strategies such as the Premier Miton Strategic Monthly Income Bond C accfund. “The fund is a predominantly investment-grade bond fund, which offers an attractive return via its yield, without the need to take undue credit or duration risk,” he notes.

With economic fundamentals remaining solid but sentiment possibly turning more wary of valuation risks, this is a more cautious way of generating attractive returns for his portfolios.

Sold: “With regret, we exited our position in the Schroder Emerging Markets Value fund following the departure of the managers,” says Ropers. He initially invested in the fund in the summer 2024 and was attracted by their value investing style, which is less common in emerging markets.

The fund performed extremely well, outperforming a strongly rising market and delivering top-decile performance, he says, “but a repositioning of the Schroders’ Value team towards its core strength in developed markets led to the managers’ exit.”

Tihana Ibrahimpasic, portfolio manager on the multi-asset team at Janus Henderson Investors

Reason to be bullish: signs of a cyclical rebound in global activity, supported by easing financial conditions and resilient household and corporate balance sheets, suggest growth can remain positive as monetary policy gradually shifts toward accommodation.

Reason to be bearish: high valuations across equities and credit, combined with fragile labour markets and persistent geopolitical tensions, heighten downside risks, particularly if inflation proves to be sticky or growth weakens, potentially triggering sharper corrections and prolonged uncertainty.

Bought: Ibrahimpasic has opened a new position in the Janus Henderson Global Life Sciences Equity I Acc GBP fund, a strategy focused on capital growth through investment in innovative healthcare companies globally, spanning biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare services, and medical technology.

The fund is actively managed and seeks to outperform the MSCI World Health Care Index. Its approach leverages proprietary models and expert analysis to identify companies addressing high unmet medical needs, aiming to capture opportunities across the life sciences sector.

“The fund has delivered strong long-term performance, and is rated highly within its peer group,” she says, noting that this strategy provides differentiated exposure to healthcare innovation, complementing traditional equity allocations.

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Sold: Ibrahimpasic and her team have exited their position in the AXA Global Strategic Bond Z Acc GBP Qt, which is a well-diversified, all-weather type of fixed-income exposure. She notes that since its inception,it has been managed by the same team, benefiting from experienced portfolio managers and a wide talent pool at AXA. “While the strategy largely delivered on its objectives, our reason for exiting is consolidation across several single asset class-based managers,” she says.

The four multi-manager panellists

Simon Evan-Cook is a multi-asset, fund-of-funds manager with over 25 years’ experience in the investment industry. He joined Downing in 2022 to set up and manage the Downing Fox range of funds.

Paul Green along with Adam Norris along with became co-manager of CT Global Managed Portfolio Growth Ord CMPG 0.82 and CT Global Managed Portfolio Income Ord CMPI 0.00% on 1 June 2025. They have both been part of the multi-asset team at Columbia Threadneedle since 2016 and 2007 respectively and have a combined investment experience of 35 years. The two investment trusts specialise in buying other investment trusts.

Vincent Ropers is a portfolio manager at Wise Funds, responsible for multi-asset strategies, using value and fundamental investment styles. He is co-manager of IFSL Wise Multi-Asset Growth and IFSL Wise Multi-Asset Income.

Tihana Ibrahimpasic is a portfolio manager on the multi-asset team at Janus Henderson Investors. Prior to taking this role in 2021, she was a research analyst in the team from 2018.