Merger of JPMorgan Global Growth & Income and Scottish Investment Trust

After successfully merging with The Scottish Investment Trust PLC, JPMorgan Global Growth & Income plc (JGGI) became one of the industry's oldest investment trusts. Both companies were founded in 1887, and the combined company now has net assets of more than £1.3 billion (€1.5 billion).

The transaction also represents the second-largest merger of two separate investment firms to date.

After the purchase, JGGI will work to provide shareholders with income of at least 4% annually while gaining access to exposure to the long-term growth of the most successful businesses in the world.

The investment trust structure enables for income to be paid from both revenue and capital reserves, and JGGI's dividend policy permits this. Because payouts are independent of the revenue earned by underlying investments, according to JP Morgan, the structure would provide managers greater discretion in deciding which investment possibilities to pursue.

"Today’s news represents an exciting milestone for both groups of shareholders, [which] should benefit from the greater scale, enhanced liquidity and competitive fees of the Trust. JGGI, which recently entered the FTSE250, has consistently provided investors with strong relative and absolute performance in spite of recent market volatility," said Tristan Hillgarth, chairman of JGGI. 

He continued, "We are positive that the newly combined trust will continue to grow and serve shareholders’ interests for many years to come."

Following an initial agreement in October 2021, the transaction was authorized by Scottish Investment Trust shareholders on August 22. The Edinburgh-based trust postponed the merger in March because its debt workstreams were moving too slowly.

"While the outlook for global markets remains uncertain, we are confident that JGGI’s style-agnostic, bottom-up approach will help navigate market turbulence," said Timothy Woodhouse, investment manager at JGIG.

He stated, "For us, it is all about remaining diligent to our process and partnering with our global network of more than 80 analysts to support our global search for great businesses which generate superior returns and outperformance over the long term."

According to Bloomberg statistics, JGGI produced a NAV total return of +0.9% from 2022 to the end of August as opposed to a -3.6% return from its benchmark.

By fLEXI tEAM