Your vote counts: investment trust AGMs in June 2025

A number of investment trusts will host AGMs in June, as we reach the mid-point of a year that will be remembered for its market volatility, sparked by high valuations of US technology companies, and embedded by US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs.

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Below, we highlight some of the key votes going on during the month.

NB Private Equity Partners

With IPO activity remaining subdued, the backdrop for much of the private equity industry looks challenging. It certainly looks like the industry faces the prospect of a period of slower realisations.

This should be less troublesome for NB Private Equity Partners Class A Ord (LSE:NBPE), for instance, thanks to its co-investment model. NBPE invests directly into private companies alongside a private equity sponsor, rather than investing in underlying funds.

This means NBPE’s managers have full control over investment decisions. Managers’ current caution is reflected in the relatively low investment level recently, putting the trust in a strong position to weather a continued slowdown in exit activity, but in a good position to benefit once the environment starts to improve.

In terms of the AGM, shareholders will get to re-elect its independent board of directors. As of June’s AGM, one director, John Fala, will retire, with NBPE proposing to reduce the number of non-executive directors from six to five as of that date.

Baillie Gifford China Growth

China has been one of the biggest targets of Trump’s tariffs. At one point, the US administration imposed tariffs on Chinese imports of 145%, with China retaliating and imposing a 125% tariff on US goods.

In mid-May, the two countries agreed to pause the implementation of these tariffs for 90 days to negotiate, although over the weekend Trump said that China had “totally violated” the truce, while China then accused the US of “seriously violating” the agreement.

On the back of this, the Chinese markets have been volatile, with shares in Baillie Gifford China Growth Trust Ord (LSE:BGCG) having risen circa 60% between September 2024 and March 2025 before falling c. 22% by early April and then gaining c. 11% since then.

BGCG shareholders will get to vote on a range of trust issues this month, including the declaration of a final dividend of 2.2p, which equates to a yield of c. 0.89%, as well as to re-elect its current board of directors and authorise a renewed share buyback facility.

Middlefield Canadian Income

The big news from Middlefield Canadian Income Ord (LSE:MCT) in recent weeks has been its proposal to roll the trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) structure. The ETF would still be run actively by Middlefield and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Should the proposal be accepted and shares carried through to the ETF structure, shareholders would also be offered an uncapped cash exit at close to net asset value (NAV) for the portion of their investment they do not wish to be carried over into the ETF.

At the time of the announcement around four weeks ago, MCT said a circular would be sent to shareholders by August 2025.

The board made the proposals following pressure from US activist investor Saba Capital, run by Boaz Weinstein. In February, it called on the investment trust to eliminate its discount by becoming an open-ended fund with the same investment strategy of focusing on Canadian companies.

In this month’s AGM, shareholders will have the opportunity to vote on resolutions such as whether to receive and adopt the company’s annual financial report and to re-appoint the company’s auditors.