Caution and conservatism can be big watchwords in the world of investment trusts. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, as long as it generates the returns — and the dividend payouts — that keep shareholders happy.
In the case of the City of London Investment Trust, it’s hard to imagine a more careful and considered investor. The portfolio is stuffed full of solid, global and, on the face of it, stable stocks, from Diageo and BP to British American Tobacco and Unilever. The returns measure up pretty favourably, too.
The trust started life in 1860 as the City of London Brewery Company, becoming an investment trust in 1932 when the proceeds of the sale of its brewery and some pubs were invested in