As ISA season kicks off, the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has rounded up leading investment companies and advisers for their investment trust ISA recommendations.

From cautious to adventurous, the recommendations cover a broad spectrum of sectors for closed-ended investment companies – also known as investment trusts. Offering cautious investment company ISA recommendations, Tim Cockerill, head of research at Ashcourt Rowan, likes Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust. He said:

“The UK equity team at Invesco Perpetual is well known for their bearish stance and this is reflected in the trust. Too much debt in the economic system means that long term growth will be compromised and therefore companies with high quality and predictable earnings will win out in the end.”

Meanwhile, when it comes to adventurous ISA recommendations, Simon Moore, research analyst at Bestinvest picked out BlackRock World Mining as both a potential discount opportunity and a play on the growing Chinese economy. He said:

“The recovery in commodity prices continues to be supported by demand from China, where current economic data and GDP growth forecasts are impressive.

“Demand from the rest of the world is also beginning to improve. The portfolio of BlackRock World Mining is dominated by mining shares and major themes in the portfolio are Gold, Platinum, Copper and Iron Ore.”

Other adventurous recommendations included JP Morgan Russian Securities and Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies. Further cautious recommendations included Witan Investment Trust and BH Global.

Commenting on the recommendations, Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at the Association of Investment Companies said: “These recommendations illustrate some of the diversity in the investment company sector, and with advisers commenting on discount opportunities, there is clearly some value to be had for those willing to do their research or seek advice.”

She added: “With the outlook for the world economy still far from clear, the closed ended structure of investment companies can be particularly useful as it means managers can take a long-term view without the worry of having to sell good stock to meet redemptions.”

And, as they offer the opportunity to ‘gear up’ or borrow, to take advantage of buying opportunities, plus the independent Board and the fact that charges tend to be competitive, Ms Brodie-Smith adds: “It’s worth considering investment companies as part of your ISA portfolio.”

© Fair Investment Company Ltd