Trust bosses have criticized US activists’ plan to shake up their board and replace fund managers
The city’s investment fund bosses have hit back at a US hedge fund’s attempt to shake up their board and replace their fund managers.
Saba Capital, run by activist investor Boaz Weinstein, has called investor meetings at seven investment funds to replace their directors with himself and his allies.
However, bosses at Keystone Positive Change, one of the targeted trusts, are fighting back, saying they are ‘shocked’ by the move.
Keystone Chairman Karen Brade encouraged investors to vote against the plans, saying Saba was “acting opportunistically” and trying to “seize control of the board without a controlling shareholding, to pursue its own agenda.”
Power move: Saba Capital, run by Boaz Weinstein (pictured with his wife Tali), has called investor meetings at seven investment funds to replace their directors with himself and his allies
She added: “We believe Saba’s plan lacks transparency, would blatantly ignore good governance and potentially introduce significantly higher fees.”
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust, another target of Weinstein, also attacked the US activist, accusing his company of “undermining” the company’s performance.
Chairman Tom Burnet said: ‘Their (Saba’s) proposals lack detail and if implemented could destroy board independence, radically change the company’s investment strategy and prove highly disruptive to shareholder value.’
Meanwhile, Jonathan Simpson-Dent, chairman of the Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, said Saba was involved in a ‘backdoor attempt to seize control of the trust’.
Other targeted trusts include CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income, The European Smaller Companies Trust, Henderson Opportunities and Herald Investment Trust.
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