In our latest podcast, Sharesify’s Steven Frazer and James Crux welcome Winterflood’s head of investment trusts research, Emma Bird. They discuss the trusts landscape, structure, historically high discounts, Saba activism and lots more. To begin with, they talk through Smithson’s (SSON) controversial switch from investment trust to OEIC status and what the advantages of the trust structure is even for funds largely invested in liquid listeds. The team then move on to historically wide NAV discounts, a frustration for all shareholders. In light of the 12%-14% average gap, is activist Saba doing all investors a service? Why trusts are…

In our latest podcast, Sharesify’s Steven Frazer, James Crux and Ian Conway talk markets, mining and the shock walk out of an investment trusts management team. FTSE 100 is still clinging above 10,000, Ian explains. Meanwhile, there is a surprise reverse for defence stocks as Trump talks up an end to conflict in the Middle East. Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) plans a cash return to shareholders after crumbling in the face of Saba activism, James explains. In addition, the AIC is slamming Saba as its war of words becomes increasingly heated. Elsewhere, massive AI infrastructure capex has been embraced, spurned and embraced…

Escalating debt was the big worry for investors ahead of Oracle’s (ORCL) Q3 2026 earnings. However, growth and guidance stole the show. Shares in the Texas-based $474 billion database company are set to explode when Wall Street reopens later today. Pre-market trading is hinting at a near-11% jump to around $165. Even so, the scars of volatility so far in 2026 are still evident. The stock will still be down 16% year-to-date even after today’s implied rally. Oracle (ORCL)Price: 164.61 (+10.2%)Market cap: $474bn What did Oracle say? Oracle reported ‘clean beats across the board’, to quote Jefferies’ analysts. The company…

If you were asked to pick three key investment themes so far in 2026, what would you choose? Energy and oil, gold, silver? Probably. Tech and AI? Possibly, despite the volatility. Conflict in the Middle East and Asia’s huge exposure to oil from that part of the world would likely mean you avoided Asia trusts, while the bumpy ride for many global stock markets this year and dialled down riosk appetitte would probably see you ignore private equity. Yet, surprisingly, the best-performing UK investment trusts so far this year have primarily focused on Japanese equities, South Korean equities, natural resources,…

In our latest podcast, Sharesify’s James Crux, Ian Conway and Steven Frazer talk markets, explaining a surprisingly robust US, a big sell-off across Asia and why an oil spike is to blame. Investment trusts are never far from the chaps’ thoughts and Alliance Witan (ALW) comes under the microscope, as does the surprise stakebuild by activist Saba in Allianz Technology Trust (ATT), one of the sector’s superstar performers of the past decade. Ian flags recovery at Rentokil (RTO) to ‘buzzkill’ at Vistry (VTY), whose stock dropped 25% to its lowest since 2012. There’s knockout results from ASICs play Broadcom (AVGO), before turning…

Asian equities traded mixed on Friday but remained on course for sharp weekly losses, as escalating conflict in the Middle East and a spike in oil prices rattled investor sentiment across global markets. US equity futures were broadly flat during Asian hours, offering little relief after Wall Street extended losses overnight amid rising geopolitical tension and higher Treasury yields. Geopolitical Shock The conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States entered its seventh day on Friday, with no indication of de-escalation. Analysts warn that continued instability could disrupt energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that handles…

Broadcom delivered a robust fiscal 2026 Q1 performance (to end Jan), beating Wall Street expectations across revenue, earnings, and forward guidance. The results underscore Broadcom’s strengthening position as a key supplier of custom AI silicon, particularly for hyperscale cloud providers seeking alternatives to Nvidia (NVDA)-built solutions. The company also announced a share buyback plan of up to $10 billion. In Q1 2026 (webcast here), Broadcom generated earnings of $2.05 per share on an adjusted basis on revenue of $19.31 billion. Analysts had expected EPS of $2.02 on revenue of $19.21 billion. Broadcom (AVGO)Price: $337.65 (+6.3%)Market cap: $1.606tn The chip designer said…

Greencoat Renewables (GRP) has unveiled a bold new five-year strategy to unlock shareholder value from its portfolio. The sustainable energy investment trust’s new strategy will combine asset recycling, balance-sheet deleveraging and expansion into green digital infrastructure, including data centres, to reverse investor’s negative take on the trust. It also plans a €100 million share buyback programme by 2030. Over the past five years, Greencoat Renewables’ stock has diverged dramatically from net assets performance. That has stretching its NAV discount to over 30%, miles wider than its 6.2% average, based on Trustnet data. Annualised total return (share price plus dividends) since…

In our latest podcast, Sharesify’s James Crux, Ian Conway and a croaky Steven Frazer spin through a busy and bumpy market so far this week. Ian puts us in the loop with UK market falls. He also tells us which is Europe’s big loser so far. However, it’s Asia that is really hurting. South Korea’s Kospi Index is crashing to its biggest one-day fall. Steve puts some meat on the bones as the Straits of Hormuz close. He explains where else oil jitters are getting investors antsy. Central banks are also on the spot. They are facing big rate calls over…

Cybersecurity ‘darling’ CrowdStrike (CRWD) topped $5.25 billion in ARR (annual recurring revenue) in a record year. The Austin, Texas firm reported Q4 2026 results (to end Jan) that topped Wall Street estimates. Additionally, it issued largely in-line guidance for fiscal 2027. At a time when investors have been seriously spooked by talk of AI disruption across the software sector, the market’s response can be seen as a big positive. Shares of the cybersecurity firm are up 0.7% in pre-market US trading Wednesday, holding $394 levels. CrowdStrike (CRWD)Price: $394 (+0.66%)Market cap: $99.33bn Of course, calling it a darling needs context after…