Our three global investment trusts bring different strengths that can help balance a portfolio
In 2005, the F&C Investment Trust invested in a little-known US private company called Facebook when it was worth only $100m. Twenty-one years later it’s known as Meta and worth around $2trn, having delivered outstanding returns for F&C’s longstanding investors.
At Columbia Threadneedle, we focus on finding out-of-favour stocks in what is clearly an overlooked market. Our UK equity desk brings together eight portfolio managers and 12 dedicated analysts, providing a depth of experience and resources across the UK market.
As a leading UK equity income manager, it’s in our DNA to be bottom-up stock pickers, contrarian investors. That means we often look for stocks that have significantly underperformed but where the situation has improved. Companies where management is taking action to try to improve profitability.
These are companies that the stock market finds hard to price. They might be middling businesses priced as poor ones, or great businesses priced as middling ones. Right now, we are finding a lot of opportunities like these.
At Columbia Threadneedle, we focus on finding out-of-favour stocks in what is clearly an overlooked market. Our UK equity desk brings together eight portfolio managers and 12 dedicated analysts, providing a depth of experience and resources across the UK market.
As a leading UK equity income manager, it’s in our DNA to be bottom-up stock pickers, contrarian investors. That means we often look for stocks that have significantly underperformed but where the situation has improved. Companies where management is taking action to try to improve profitability.
These are companies that the stock market finds hard to price. They might be middling businesses priced as poor ones, or great businesses priced as middling ones. Right now, we are finding a lot of opportunities like these.
Three distinct but potentially complementary trusts
Our range of three global investment trusts all offer you global equity exposure, spread across many companies and underlying funds. But they do so in distinct ways that, if combined in your investment portfolio, may help dampen swings in market sentiment.
Individually, they are quite different – one core equity trust, one smaller company trust and one fund of funds. Taken together, they can be complementary.
F&C Investment Trust: core exposure to world-leading companies
Founded in 1868 to bring the benefits of investing to a wider audience, our F&C Investment Trust is the biggest of the three at £7.3bn. The trustWe seeks to deliver steady, long-term capital growth and a healthy dividend income from a portfolio of more than 400 large, strong companies. They include household names like Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline, and powerful newcomers like Amazon and Tesla. F&C also taps into the growth of companies in emerging markets, as well as private companies and funds.
The Global Smaller Companies Trust: access innovative smaller companies
By contrast, our Global Smaller Companies Trust gives you access to the dynamic performance of exciting smaller businesses from more than 40 countries. One of the largest specialist global smaller companies trusts, we aim to secure a high total return by investing in high-quality businesses run by strong management teams, where the price we pay for our investment is attractive. We select stocks from thousands of stock market-listed companies. As many of them are not well researched or understood, we find pockets of market inefficiency that we as stock pickers aim to take advantage of.
CT Global Managed Portfolio Trust: a diversified fund of funds
Lastly, as a multi-manager investment trust, CT Global Managed Portfolio Trust invests across a range of investment companies. The trustWe gives you exposure to different investment providers and markets through a single trust. You can choose from two portfolios: one designed to deliver income and the other capital growth. Firstly, CT Global Managed Portfolio Trust Income invests in at least 25 investment companies, aiming to pay income dividends quarterly or every three months. Secondly, CT Global Managed Portfolio Trust Growth also invests in at least 25 investment companies, in its case with an objective of capital growth.
A balanced blend
All three investment trusts seek the best that global stock markets can offer but in different ways. When combined, they may be well placed to navigate shifting market trends – the prevailing trend is always likely to favour one, if not the others. Equally, in rocky market periods one may prove more resilient to volatility than the others.
Not all global investment trusts are created equal. By blending three together, you can use that to your advantage.
- MSCI USA Information Technology Index: https://www.msci.com/indexes/index/984000
- Source: Columbia Threadneedle. July 31,2026.
Investment risks
The value of your investments and any income from them can go down as well as up and you may not get back the original amount invested. Gearing is used for investment purposes to obtain, increase or reduce exposure to an asset, index or investment. The use of gearing can enhance returns to investors in a rising market, but if the market falls the losses may be greater. The mention of any stocks and bonds is not a recommendation to deal. All information is sourced from Columbia Threadneedle Investments, unless otherwise stated.
Issued by Columbia Threadneedle Management Limited and approved for distribution 10/09/26.
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