More than two thirds of investors put the same amount or more as last year into investment trusts during this ISA season, according to a joint survey by investment analysis and research provider FE, asset manager Schroders and financial content distributor Dianomi.
Of around 1,000 respondents, 50 per cent said they were investing the same, while 19 per cent are piling more into closed-ended vehicles.
A quarter of respondents said they were new to investment trusts, having made their first investment in the last five years, while half of those who hold investment trusts have made a new investment in the last three months.
The survey, reflecting bullish sentiment amongst investors, also showed that individual investments made into investment trusts this year were significantly greater than they were into any other product.
IFAs too show increasing interest in closed end funds. 38 per cent of IFAs who responded said they were already advising their clients on trusts, while a similar number have recommended a trust in the last three months, and a further 26% said they would soon start recommending trusts for the first time.
A third of advisers have been pushing their clients toward investment trusts for less than a year, while a half recommended their first in the last five years.
A quarter of respondents said they’d invested half of their allowance in a trust or trusts.
Commenting on the findings, Pascal Dowling, Head of Publishing at FE Trustnet, said: “What we are being told in our survey is backed up by what we are seeing on the site.
“Traffic to our investment trust pages has increased by more than 40 per cent over the last two years, and we saw nearly 1.5 million page impressions during this year’s ISA season alone.
“As RDR approached the investment trust industry upped its game when it came to marketing these products, and strong performances from the likes of Lindsell Train, Fidelity Special Values, and Edinburgh have supported those efforts.
“Investment trusts still face an uphill struggle to be heard, however, in a self-directed world where the majority of platforms do not offer investment trusts for sale. “Until platforms offer a level playing field for investment trusts they are denying them to an audience who could benefit from access.
“Our own platform, Trustnet Direct, obviously offers access to investment trusts – which is one of the things that makes it stand out from the crowd.”
