This report is the second in our series on decarbonising the built environment. While our first report focused on building materials, this report tackles two of the sector’s most critical and emissions-intensive inputs: cement and steel. Together, these materials account for approximately 16% of global CO2 emissions and sit at the heart of modern construction. They are also difficult to decarbonise as their respective production processes are heat intensive, assets are long lived and margins are typically thin. Regulation, customers and capital are increasingly pushing for lower-carbon materials and new technologies are emerging, including clinker substitution and carbon capture in cement, and greater scrap use, electrification and hydrogen-based routes in steel. The investment cycle will mean that the transition takes time, but materials producers will need to adapt.

In this episode, our director of content, investment companies Milosz Papst talks about Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust. This is a timely podcast as the trust is once again under fire from US-based activist hedge fund Saba Capital Management. Shareholders voted decisively against Saba’s proposals in February 2025 and Edinburgh Worldwide’s board is urging shareholders to do so again. This time round, Saba has amassed a larger stake in the trust and is proposing to replace Edinburgh Worldwide’s board with three of its own representative but has given no indication about the trust’s future strategy. Timing is tight as the general meeting is scheduled for 12:00 noon on 20 January 2026. The cut-off for submitting votes is 12:00 noon on Saturday 17 January 2026 but for platforms, the date may be as soon as 12 January 2026.

Papst provides a brief introduction to Edinburgh Worldwide before highlighting how the board has proactively addressed a period of poor performance. This included enhancing the investment team and meaningful improvements in portfolio construction and execution, such as fewer holdings and stricter measures to address underperforming investments. The portfolio was reshaped to include more profitable, cash-generative companies and to have greater sector diversification. These efforts have led to notably better performance.

Attention then returns to the pressing issue of Saba. Edinburgh Worldwide’s board strongly urges all of its shareholders, no matter how large or how small, to vote against Saba’s proposal to take control of the trust in a move that would favour Saba over the trust’s existing shareholders. Saba has not stated its intentions, beyond replacing the board, and has failed to engage, including a lack of response to a list of questions in Edinburgh Worldwide’s open letter on 30 December 2025.

Listen on your preferred podcast player below:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Zencastr

About Uncovering Trusts: Uncovering Trusts is a podcast run by Edison analysts, which is released every two weeks. Subscribe to hear analyst interviews on how investment trusts maximise returns while managing risks for investors.

For any income-focused investor moving from initial interest to active consideration of adding a stock to their portfolio, it is advisable to interrogate the extent to which the company’s strategy is supported by a durable and mathematically sound shareholder return framework.

Will they secure the dividend and fund buybacks?

An analysis for income-focused investors

For any major integrated energy company, the central challenge is clear: deliver competitive shareholder returns today while navigating the complexities of the global energy transition. bp has announced a "fundamental update" of its strategy—a decisive answer to this challenge that reflects decades of leadership experience and the imperative to deliver strong performance for shareholders.

Here’s the scorecard to watch

How to invest in the UK’s social impact REITs

In this episode, our director of content, investment trusts Milosz Papst talks about Murray International. This is our first podcast focusing on this large, well-established fund, so he starts by providing an introduction to the company, before highlighting how it differs from its peers in the AIC Global Equity Income sector. Murray International has a notable below-market weight in the US and a meaningful allocation to emerging markets. Discussion then moves onto the investment process, which features Aberdeen’s focus on quality and value, and input from its regional investment teams. He then provides more information about the portfolio, which is broadly diversified by geography and sector. To bring some more colour, he gives some examples of recent transactions, where portfolio activity has been higher than average as Murray International’s managers have found increased opportunities in a volatile market. Attention then turns to the trust’s performance and the change in the company’s reference measure to what is a more relevant MSCI ACWI High Dividend Yield Index given Murray International’s emphasis on income and dividend growth. Papst then highlights the trust’s competitive fee structure and its valuation, before wrapping up with summary of the key takeaways of the Murray International story.

Listen on your preferred podcast player below:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Zencastr

About Uncovering Trusts: Uncovering Trusts is a podcast run by Edison analysts, which is released every two weeks. Subscribe to hear analyst interviews on how investment trusts maximise returns while managing risks for investors.

Edison’s investment companies team recently published a review of Canadian General Investments (Ticker: CGI). It has significantly outperformed the Canadian market over the very long term; not many investment companies are able to report a 50-year record of outperformance. Things have been a little more challenging this year in a volatile and narrow market led by gold stocks. However, CGI’s relative performance is improving now the market is broadening out and manager Greg Eckel acknowledges that there are times when the best portfolio outcome is to leave well alone and wait for the dust to settle. As well as core long-term holdings, there are some interesting themes in the portfolio such as uranium stocks, which are not widely held, and have performed very well. Dividends are an important part of CGI’s total returns. This year has seen a step-up in the company’s annual dividend growth rate from a 4 cents per share increase over the last seven years to an 8 cents per share increase. This year will mark 12 years of consecutive higher dividends.