In a significant show of confidence, renowned fund manager Nick Train has purchased a substantial personal stake in the Finsbury Growth and Income Trust, just weeks before a critical shareholder vote that will decide its future.
A Major Personal Investment
Nick Train, the co-founder of Lindsell Train, has invested more than £200,000 into the trust he has managed since the year 2000. According to a regulatory filing with the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Train bought 25,000 shares at an average price of 824p each, a transaction totalling approximately £206,000.
This purchase increases his personal holding in the £1.3 billion trust to nearly five per cent. The move is seen as a powerful signal of faith in the trust's strategy ahead of its continuation vote at the Annual General Meeting on 15 January 2026. This vote, a first in the trust's 100-year history, will determine if the venerable investment vehicle should be wound up.
Context of Recent Struggles
Train's latest investment comes during a challenging period for the trust. Despite the FTSE 100 index rallying more than 20% in 2025—its best performance since the 2008 financial crisis—the Finsbury trust ended the year with an underlying return of just 2.3%.
The trust, which focuses on London-listed companies, is also trading at a discount of over five per cent to the net value of its assets. This is a common issue in the sector, where many UK-focused investment trusts have struggled against the twin headwinds of stagnant domestic stock performance and the rising popularity of low-cost tracker funds.
Train bought a similar number of shares at the start of 2025 when they were trading at 899p, shortly before apologising to shareholders for the trust's "stagnant performance." He made another purchase in July of the same year.
The Stakes for the Centenary Vote
The upcoming AGM vote on 15 January is a landmark event for one of the UK's oldest investment trusts. Both Train and his co-founder Michael Lindsell have stated they will not participate in the poll, despite their significant combined stakes.
The board has attempted to support the share price through a series of buybacks, but the discount persists. However, this short-term difficulty obscures a remarkable long-term track record. Since Train took over the portfolio at the turn of the millennium, the trust has delivered a return of over 700%, dramatically outperforming its FTSE All-Share benchmark, which has risen 317% in the same period.
Train's substantial personal financial commitment is therefore a clear message to shareholders as they prepare to decide the fate of this century-old investment institution.
