Alliance Trust and Witan Investment Trust are to merge and become Alliance Witan. The merger is expected to be complete by September or October 2024 and represents the largest ever deal within the investment trust sector.
As part of the merger, Witan’s assets will roll into Alliance Trust to form Alliance Witan. Alliance Trust will maintain its existing investment process, investing in what the management team believes to be the best global active managers.
The deal follows a strategic review, which followed the announcement that Witan CEO Andrew Bell will retire. The board of Witan Investment Trust unanimously voted for the merger after exploring several options, including whether to use a single manager, however, it felt it was in shareholders’ best interests to merge with Alliance Trust. This means Witan shareholders will continue to invest in a trust using a multi-manager approach and in global stock markets.
Shareholders will also receive the benefit of Alliance Trust’s size and scale, which will help keep costs down, as well as its relationship with fund pickers and the trust’s manager Willis Towers Watson (WTW). The ongoing charges are expected to reduce to between 0.50% and 0.60%, compared with Witan’s current 0.76% and Alliance Trust’s 0.62%.
Witan shareholders will be able to roll over into the new Alliance Witan Investment Trust once the merger takes place. Alternatively, they will have the option to choose a cash exit at a price close to the trust’s Net Asset Value (NAV). Investors will be informed of further details and the options available to them later this year.
You can find out more about these trusts, including their charges, below.