Your vote counts: investment trust AGMs in February 2026

Dry January may have saved many a sore head, but investment trust shareholders are not spared a Saba hangover in February with the US activist investor causing a raft of corporate actions this month.

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Votes at Smithson Investment Trust Ord (LSE:SSON), Impax Environmental Markets Ord (LSE:IEM) and Herald Ord (LSE:HRI) will be closely watched by many, which we’ll preview below.

In terms of AGMs, February is a quiet month, but includes some Asia-related investment trust meetings after a stellar 2025 for the region.

Below, we have highlighted some of the key votes going on during the month below.

JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income

Asia continues to be an area ripe for growth, with a thriving technology and AI sector surely placing it at the top of mind for any investors worried about the valuations of US, large-cap tech names.

A weakening US dollar, central banks that have been ahead of the curve and a nascent but powerful recovery in China has helped the region, too. JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income Ord (LSE:JAGI)has benefited, with shares up circa 42% in the past 12 months and the discount narrowing from 11% to 5.5% today.

It’s a positive backdrop for its continuation vote. At the forthcoming AGM, JAGI shareholders will vote on whether the company will continue in operation for the next three years. The last time this was put to a vote in 2023, 99.97% of votes supported the company.

This year, JAGI’s board have said that it believes “the long-term outlook for Asian markets is favourable and that the investment manager has the resources and processes to continue to deliver good results for shareholders, as shown by the company’s long-term performance”.

CC Japan Income & Growth

Despite an almost unique set of challenges facing the country, Japan’s stock market has powered ahead, delivering almost twice the gains of the US and European benchmark indices over the past year.  

Long-dated government bond (JGB) yields have risen sharply, with, for instance, the 40-year JGB rising above 4% for the first time since its 2007 debut; while the yen remains weak, the debt-to-GDP ratio sits at an eye-watering 250% and the country readies itself for a snap general election.

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Still, CC Japan Income & Growth Ord (LSE:CCJI)’s shares are trading at record highs. Its one-year share price total returns are 33.2%, while over three and five years it has gained 66.7% and 100.1%.

Improving corporate governance remains a tailwind for the market, with the new prime minister seen to be market-friendly, and many sectors are set to benefit from the prospect of firmer nominal growth and government spending.

Shareholders will be able to vote on the re-election of the board of directors, and to allow the company to buy back shares.

General meetings

The Saba saga continues, with general meetings at a trio of the hedge fund’s key targets.

Smithson, the global small and mid-cap trust run by Terry Smith’s Fundsmith, has a vote on winding up the company and rolling it into the newly launched Smithson Equity Fund, an open-ended fund with the same mandate.

If approved, shareholders will then be able to either receive shares in the fund and/or elect to take their cash back at net asset value (NAV) minus the associated transaction costs.

SSON’s board, Smith and Saba have all indicated that they will vote in favour at each meeting. Its fund manager, Simon Barnard, and its investment process, will remain the same.

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Both Impax Environmental Markets and Herald have votes on approving tender offers intended to placate Saba.

IEM shareholders will vote on whether to approve a continuation tender offer, which would ask them if they wish to continue being invested in IEM’s strategy or exit at close to NAV.

Chair Glen Suarez said that the continuation tender offer is contingent on Saba tendering all, or materially all, of its shares and claimed that if it did not, “it is clearly indicating that its motive is control and the board will propose the exit tender offer to ensure shareholders are not trapped in a vehicle at risk of being repurposed for Saba’s interests”.

In a similar vein, HRI also has a vote to approve a tender offer where eligible shareholders can, if they wish, sell up to 100% of their shares and receive cash at close to NAV. Again, HRI’s board noted that if Saba blocks the tender offer it will launch what it is calling a backstop tender offer on terms that cannot be blocked by Saba alone.

This would, the board said, “ensure shareholders can at least receive cash rather than automatically remaining in a vehicle which is likely to become effectively controlled by Saba, an outcome shareholders have already voted against twice in the last year”.