One of the best investment trusts for emerging market investors

The Utilico Emerging Markets investment trust focuses on infrastructure, an area its competitors often ignore.

Manila International Container Terminal © Brent Lewin/Bloomberg via Getty Images

International Container Terminal Services is the fund's largest holding
(Image credit: Manila International Container Terminal © Brent Lewin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The last year has been dismal for emerging market stocks, with the corresponding MSCI index returning 2%. Investors in investment trusts, however, have fared well: the JPMorgan trust (LSE: JMG) has returned 13%, Genesis (LSE: GSS) 14% and Utilico Emerging Markets (LSE: UEM) 19% over 12 months. UEM, moreover, has had no help from the Chinese internet stocks that have bolstered emerging markets' performance in recent years.

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Max King
Investment Writer

Max has an Economics degree from the University of Cambridge and is a chartered accountant. He worked at Investec Asset Management for 12 years, managing multi-asset funds investing in internally and externally managed funds, including investment trusts. This included a fund of investment trusts which grew to £120m+. Max has managed ten investment trusts (winning many awards) and sat on the boards of three trusts – two directorships are still active.

After 39 years in financial services, including 30 as a professional fund manager, Max took semi-retirement in 2017. Max has been a MoneyWeek columnist since 2016 writing about investment funds and more generally on markets online, plus occasional opinion pieces. He also writes for the Investment Trust Handbook each year and has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and other publications. See here for details of current investments held by Max.