Monks Investment Trust has endured a bruising 18 months, with its holdings severely marked down as interest rates have risen. Now, however, the managers of the former market darling say that the “ruthless weeding” of its portfolio is done.
The FTSE 250 fund, managed by the Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford and a smaller stablemate of Scottish Mortgage, was wrongfooted by the extent of financial tightening in the wider economy and was pushed to rethink investments in companies more vulnerable to higher rates, rampant inflation and weaker consumer spending.
A style shift among investors is not to blame, though. Disastrous share picks including Carvana, the American used car retailer, and Peloton, the company behind the lockdown exercise bike craze, also wiped out returns. Last year, it
