The European Smaller Companies Trust

Investment summary

TR European Growth Trust (TRG) is looking to attract a broader investor audience through a range of changes announced after a recent strategic review. The board hopes the change of name (due in January 2022) to The European Smaller Companies Trust will make TRG’s investment focus more explicit, while an eight-for-one share split (due on 13 December) should boost liquidity and help attract smaller regular savers on retail platforms. A reduction in the base management fee (already in place) will benefit existing as well as new investors, while a new benchmark (from 1 July 2022) is more of an administrative issue. The successful investment approach, mainly targeting capital growth from attractive but undervalued growth companies, as well as the management team led by Ollie Beckett at Janus Henderson Investors, remain unchanged.