Allianz Technology

Tech-focused investment trust Allianz Technology (LSE: ATT) has reaped the benefits, it is now up an astonishing 512% in the last 10 years, making it the best performing fund in the investment trust sector, slightly ahead of Scottish Mortgage at 509%, according to figures from the Association of Investment Companies.

It has achieved this by investing in a spread of mostly US stocks – the fund has 90% exposure to the States. It is crammed with familiar tech names, with Microsoft its biggest holding at 7.60% of the portfolio, while Facebook, Apple and Alphabet also figure in its top 10 holdings, alongside Taiwan Semiconductor and MasterCard.

The fund has consistently performed the IT Technology & Media sector and still has momentum, up 38% in the last year. Unsurprisingly, it trades at a narrow discount to net asset value of just -0.8%, slightly more expensive than its long-term average of -3.4%.

Allianz Technology is clearly a good fund, the big question is what happens to the sector next. You should never buy an investment purely on past performance, as the chances of a repeat are slim. Nobody can bank on getting another 500% growth in the next 10 years.

I still believe the tech charge has further to go, as it embeds itself ever more closely into our lives. The revolution may still be at an early stage, and this fund could be a good way to play it without the risk of buying individual stocks.

Finsbury Growth & Income

These days everybody loves Nick Train, who co-founded Lindsell Train Limited in 2000, and has become one of the UK’s most renowned fund managers. He runs several hugely successful and popular unit trusts with co-manager Michael Lindsell, and has his own investment trust, too, Finsbury Growth & Income (LSE: FGT).

This operates in the UK equity income sector, where it has done brilliantly well, returning a total of 366.43% over the last 10 years, including reinvested dividends.

Top holdings include familiar FTSE 100 names such as Diageo, Unilever, Burberry Group, Schroders and Hargreaves Lansdown, but this is no closet tracker filled with the same old stocks, as you often see in the equity income sector. Train is picking his stocks carefully, and well.

Last time I looked at his trust, it was trading at a premium to net asset value. Today, you can buy it at a small discount of -2.4%, which is actually below its long-term average premium of 0.5%, making this a potentially better entry point. Nobody likes overpaying if they can help it.

In fact, these two funds could complement each other nicely. Allianz Technology will give you a spread of racy tech stocks, mostly from the US, while Finsbury Growth & Income will give you a solid blend of UK income stocks.

Both should make good long-term portfolio holds.

The post £2k to invest? This tech investment trust I like is up 550% in 10 years appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• This FTSE 250 fund’s manager has significant skin in the game
• 2 FTSE investment trusts to consider for passive income in 2026
• 2 stock market bargains to consider in an ISA!

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Harvey Jones has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Mastercard, Microsoft, Netflix, and Unilever. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Burberry, Diageo, and Hargreaves Lansdown and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft and short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Vote of confidence

Online platform Interactive Investor has just announced the most popular trusts among its investors, and it’s an impressive bunch. The top two are stellar performers Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and City of London Investment Trust.

I’m a long-standing admirer of Scottish Mortgage, a global fund that has delivered 180% growth over the past five years, against just 88% on its benchmark IT global sector. However, Rupert Hargreaves covered this beauty yesterday, saying he’d buy this FTSE 100 investment trust right now.

I’m also a fan of City of London, fabled for increasing its dividend every year for more than 50 years, but I sung its praises less than a month ago. That’s okay, though, because the next two also merit close attention.

Tech hero

The third most popular investment trust in the UK is Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT), which aims to deliver long-term capital growth by investing in technology companies around the world. Incredibly, it has even outperformed Scottish Mortgage, returning a simply massive 253% over the last five years.

The trust has clearly benefited from being in the most buoyant sector of all, as its benchmark IT Tech, Media & Telecomm sector grew a storming 213% on average over the same period. Obviously, the trust is a goodie but you cannot expect it to deliver a repeat performance, as sectoral performance tends to be cyclical. 

It can’t go on

Top 10 holdings include Amazon and Facebook, while its biggest single position at 5.20% is Google owner Alphabet. The trust is almost 90% invested in the US, whose tech sector has smashed allcomers over the past five years. Hence its performance, and popularity.

Allianz Technology now trades at a discount of just 0.1 and my concern is obvious. US tech has been on such an amazing run, but nothing lasts forever. You risk jumping on the bandwagon just as it hits a wall. On the other hand, US tech has defied the doubters before. It’s your call.

Train of thought

The UK’s fourth most loved investment trust is Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (LSE: FGT), which invests primarily in UK-listed companies. It has outshone its rivals, growing almost 95% over the past five years, against just 30% across the UK equity income sector. It’s up 18% over last year, against just 2% for its benchmark.

All becomes clear when you discover this £1.65bn fund is run by ace manager Nick Train, whose joint venture with Michael Lindsell, Lindsell Train Global Equity, is the UK’s second most popular unit trust (after FundSmith Equity).

Man of conviction

Top holdings include familiar names such as Diageo, Relx and Unilever. The fact that these three stocks each make up around 10% of the fund shows this is a conviction play, rather than a safety-first closet tracker.

Finsbury Growth & Income also trades at a slight premium, in this case 0.8, which is a vote of confidence from investors. You’re unlikely to find it much cheaper given that the long-term average premium is 0.5. These two trusts may not always be the best in the world, but they’ll take some beating.

The post Are these the best investment trusts in the world? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• This FTSE 250 fund’s manager has significant skin in the game
• 2 FTSE investment trusts to consider for passive income in 2026
• 2 stock market bargains to consider in an ISA!

Harvey Jones has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

If you’re looking to start investing in the stock market, here are three simple investments that could enable you to benefit from Buffett’s wealth of wisdom.

Buffett’s Berkshire

The most immediate way to align yourself with Buffett is to buy shares in his investment company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B), which is listed on the New York stock exchange. With a market value of over $500bn, Berkshire is one of the top stocks in the S&P 500 — an index of 500 of the US’s biggest companies. Over the last 53 years, Buffett has increased Berkshire’s value at an annualised rate of a bit over 19%.

Berkshire owns, or has a controlling stake in, a number of private businesses, but also has investments in a range of stock market-listed companies, including American Express, Apple and The Coca-Cola Company. Of course, one consideration for investors today is that Buffett is no spring chicken and — when the time comes — there can be no guarantee Berkshire will be as rewarding under the management of his successors.

Britain’s Buffett

One alternative — and an attractive one for UK investors, in my view — is to buy shares in London-listed Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (LSE: FGT). This investment company’s portfolio has been managed for the last 18 years by Nick Train, who has been dubbed “Britain’s Warren Buffett,” due to his devotion to investing by Buffett’s fundamental principles. Finsbury’s annualised return over the last 10 years has been just under 19%.

Many of the companies Train invests in are recognisably ‘Buffett-type’ stocks — that’s to say, they have certain business and financial characteristics that Buffett looks for. Indeed, one of Train’s biggest holdings, Unilever, was the subject of an attempted takeover last year by Buffett-controlled Kraft Heinz. Other top stocks in Finsbury’s portfolio include drinks giant Diageo, financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown and fashion house Burberry.

Buffett’s bequest

Buffett has said many times that he believes (and there’s plenty of data to support it) a low-cost index-tracking fund will deliver superior returns to those achieved by most investors, whether private or professional. In fact, in a bequest in his will for the benefit of his wife, he has advised the trustee to invest 90% of the cash in an S&P 500 index fund.

Such funds simply mirror the return of the index, less a small annual management charge. S&P 500 trackers are available in the UK. This index has been a strong performer historically (an annualised return of 17% over the past 10 years), but other options, including the FTSE 100 (11% annualised return) or FTSE World (14%) could also be worth considering.

Finally, while it’s unlikely you’ll ever come close to achieving the level of wealth Buffett has accumulated in his lifetime, history shows that long-term investing in the stock market makes financial independence a realistic goal for many people. Furthermore, as a general rule, the sooner you get started, the better.

The post 3 easy ways to invest like Warren Buffett appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• This FTSE 250 fund’s manager has significant skin in the game
• 2 FTSE investment trusts to consider for passive income in 2026

G A Chester has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of and has recommended Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and Unilever. The Motley Fool UK has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Burberry, Diageo, and Hargreaves Lansdown. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.