Ashoka: A new, but reliable, trust you can count on

Our investment columnist, Max King, says tough times breed investment trusts like Ashoka, that you can trust.

India view of the Mumbai skyline from the Malabar district in the city centre
(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s a good rule of thumb to avoid new investment-trust issues until they have proven themselves. Still, there are always exceptions. In my experience, the most reliable trusts are launched in tough times. The Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets Trust (LSE: AWEM) launched earlier this year, raising £31m, is a good example. 

Ashoka launched its Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust (LSE: AIE), managed by the same investment team, in July 2018 with just £46m. Since then, it has returned 131% against 74% for the MSCI India index, making it the best performer of the Indian trusts. Assets have grown to £263m. 

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This material is not intended as an offer or invitation to purchase or sell any investment.

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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.