Lindsell Train trust has worst showing in quarter century
The manager’s woes continue to stack up.
9th June 2026 10:58
by Dave Baxter from interactive investor
Nick Train vehicle Lindsell Train Ord (LSE:LTI) has suffered its “most disappointing” bout of performance in 25 years as the manager’s woes continue to rack up.
The global equity trust, which is tiny with a market capitalisation of around £114 million but serves as a ramped-up bet on Train thanks to its position in his fund management company, saw shareholders take a loss of almost 30% in the year to 31 March 2026. The MSCI World index, by contrast, made a gain of around 16%.
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The board put this down to three main factors: the effect of the software sell-off on holdings such as London Stock Exchange Group (LSE:LSEG) and RELX (LSE:REL) combined with a lack of exposure to perceived artificial intelligence (AI) “winners”, a lack of exposure to the likes of energy companies and banks, and a fall in funds under management for the Lindsell Train company itself.
The valuation of the Lindsell Train business as part of the portfolio has fallen in recent years, and made up around a fifth of the fund at the end of March. It delivered the biggest blow to performance over the 12-month period.
Looking into the portfolio, the fund management business made up 19.7%, with LSEG on 14.4%, the WS Lindsell Train North American Eq Acc (BJVLMG4) fund on 13.5%, Nintendo on 11.1% and Relx on 6.4% at the end of March. Other holdings include AG Barr (LSE:BAG), Unilever (LSE:ULVR) and Diageo (LSE:DGE).
Train defended his approach, arguing: “We evidently own a collection of out-of-favour shares, which are therefore underperforming, but that does not necessarily mean we own a collection of underperforming companies.”
He noted that names such as LSEG and Relx had enjoyed revenue growth, with consumer goods names that still feature prominently in the sector also showing strong underlying performance.
As with Finsbury Growth & Income Ord (LSE:FGT), this remains a concentrated portfolio subject to the fortunes of a handful of companies and sectors.
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The LTI board also proposed to change the trust’s articles of association to introduce contingency measures for the event that, in the wake of an attack from an activist investor, the trust would be left with no directors after a general meeting.
The rule changes would ensure the automatic and temporary appointment, or reappointment, of the minimum number of individuals required to fill the vacancies.
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