Performance Fees

Performance Fees – Don’t You Just Hate Them?

I mentioned in a previous blog post the result of a performance incentive fee for the manager at British Smaller Companies VCT (BSV) which resulted in total fees of 6.9% of net assets last year. Another similar example is that of Proven VCT (PVN) who managed to do even better at 8.8% of assets for the same reason. This problem of excessive and perverse performance fees has recently been covered in the FCA’s “Asset Management Market Study” and in a very good ...

Foresight VCT Incentive Fee

In addition to my recent comments on Foresight 4, it’s worth covering the latest news from the original Foresight VCT (FTV). They have announced a General Meeting on the...

International Biotechnology Trust – Odd Performance Fee

International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) is an investment trust focussed on the sector suggested by its name. I attended the Annual General Meeting yesterday (13/12/2016) in the City of London...

Why should investors not see performance fee details at Northern VCT?

Northern Venture Trust (a VCT) introduced a management performance fee at a General Meeting on the 18th July. They did not have one before even though they had outperformed the very similar Northern 2 VCT over the last ten years who do. I spoke against the introduction of such a fee at the General Meeting, and raised questions about how the fees were to be calculated, as did another shareholder. The calculations were not at all clear from the meeting notice. As ...

Top performing VCTs and performance fees.

Yesterday the AIC published a note on the “dividend stars” and “strongest performers” among Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) now that such companies have been in existence for 18 years. In terms of total dividends paid out since launch ProVen Growth & Income came top with Baronsmead VCT in second place. But investors should bear in mind that some VCTs pay dividends out of the capital of the trust which sometimes just means that investors are simply having the money they invested ...