City of London Investment Trust is the top-performing trust in 2025, with other trusts trading at a discount.
From Morningstar: 2025-05-14 05:18:00
City of London Investment Trust (CTY) and Fidelity European (FEV) are the top two performing trusts in 2025 so far, according to Morningstar analysts. Meanwhile, Polar Capital Technology (PCT) and JPMorgan American (JAM) are the two trusts with the biggest losses. City of London is the only trust trading at a premium and has increased its dividend for 58 years.
City of London’s biggest holding is BAE Systems (BA), up 48% this year, while HSBC (HSBA) is up 12%. The rest of the rated trusts are trading at a discount, with eight having discounts of over 10%. Baillie Gifford Japan (BGFD) has the biggest discount at 11.97%, struggling to reach previous share price highs.
Polar Capital Technology, with the biggest loss this year, holds 9% of its assets in Nvidia (NVDA) and 4% in Apple (AAPL), both down double digits in 2025. Scottish Mortgage (SMT), the UK’s largest trust, is down 0.35% this year but has recovered after a significant hit in April on tariff news.
The best performing Morningstar-rated trusts in 2025 include City of London Investment Trust Plc (CTY), Fidelity European Trust PLC (FEV), Henderson European Trust PLC (HET), Fidelity Special Values PLC (FSV), and TR Property Investment Trust (TRY). The worst performers are Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT), JPMorgan American Investment Trust (JAM), Pacific Assets Trust (PAC), Mid Wynd International Investment Trust PLC Fund (MWY), and Monks Investment Trust Plc (MNKS).
The methodology for calculating investment trust performance includes monitoring daily share price performance and net asset value (NAV), which most trusts trade at a discount to. For example, Polar Capital Technology has a five-year annualized NAV return of 14.65%, slightly lower in share price terms at 11.26%. Morningstar’s total return calculation considers changes in monthly NAV and reinvestment of income and capital gains distributions.
Read more at Morningstar: City of London Tops List of Best-Performing UK…