Witan Pacific Investment Share Discussion Threads

[vacendak] 09/10/2020 16:32

They are still dropping the RNS on the WPC ticker, even if ADVFN (and the others) have stopped reporting the share price under WPC.

Anyway, everything now works under BGCG.

[vacendak] 22/9/2020 10:48

They have now switched to the BGCG ticker.

[vacendak] 19/9/2020 15:46

The Baillie Guifford China Growth site is up and running:


All the Witan Pacific annual and half-year reports are now on the new BG website.
The lastest - and last - Witan Pacific HY report is not uploaded yet.

I have created a new thread:

[vacendak] 16/9/2020 16:54

The resolutions have passed so it is hara-kiri for Witan Pacific.

Sweet irony, WPC has been beating the benchmark more or less since the announcement of its potential demise. Witan is given a perfunctory good bye in the latest communication.


How the mighty have fallen. They were laughing, back in 2005, when they took over the trust from their arch rival Foreign & Colonial (F&C Pacific Investment Trust) and now they got dropped pretty summarily. After all it was the managers that were given an ultimatum last year about liquidating at NAV, not Witan.

The new vehicle will be called "Baillie Gifford China Growth Trust plc" and shall have the ticker BGCG.
I have prepared a new thread for it:



Trying to convince myself to convert in full:


The article makes some good points indeed.

[vacendak] 02/9/2020 13:49

I have just received the official tender offer for the 40% cash-in at NAV - 1%.
The deadline for the decision is September 17th and the pay date would be October 2nd.

These are the dates given to me by Equiniti/Shareview.

The discount has narrowed seriously since the announcement by the way.
Ironically the NAV has been doing pretty well too compared to the recent performance.

I was wrong on SDP by the way. I had read some old/wrong data on it from the AIC website of all sources!
SDP is not "low China" at all. Since then I have found that PAC would help on diversification, although their performance is just on the OK or so-so side of things.

[vacendak] 24/7/2020 21:50

I am agonising on this one. I guess I will take the hypocritical way and stay in too. Baillie Gifford are king Midas compared to the team Witan had put together with WPC of late.
Also, the new trust will keep the dividend reserves, which they say they will drain, as in redistribute, over the course of the first year as the new plan is for growth only. Thus, exiting would mean losing on that cash.

I am now looking into something that is Far East without too much China and no Japan, which I have plenty of, happily so far, but separately.

SDP might do the trick (Schroder AsiaPacific). It performs well compared to WPC. The portfolio is a bit bizarre as it lists some holdings in UK, USA, Italy and Germany but those are allegedly due to companies that are focused on Asia/Pacific. So, I shall be following that a bit and potentially open a small position, then top up accordingly, when I feel like rebalancing the portfolio to Far East ex-Japan.

[topvest] 24/7/2020 19:36

Well I think it's a positive move. I will stay on board.

[vacendak] 22/7/2020 10:42

More in the press:

[vacendak] 22/7/2020 08:57

Well the announcement of exiting at "close to NAV" or joining the new endeavour sure is pushing the share price up.

[vacendak] 22/7/2020 07:57

100% China?
In this environment?
Even though I have a lot of respect for Baillie Gifford, this is just not right.
I do not wish to put all of my WPC investment in the hands of filfthy commies.

Then again, one should not mix investment with politics. After all Barclays and others bankrolled the Reich during WWII.

[vacendak] 22/7/2020 07:52

100% China?
In this environment?
Even though I have a lot of respect for Baillie Gifford, this is just not right.
I do not wish to put all of my WPC investment in the hands of filfthy commies.

[topvest] 30/6/2019 18:53

It will work when the disruptor bubble eventually busts. Unless you believe that this time is really different....it never has been in the past.

[vacendak] 28/6/2019 14:59

I have had a look at the latest video updates from the WPC managers.


Mostly moaning about late 2018.
Everubody seems to be worshipping at the altar of "value investing". Nothing wrong with that mind you; I like the method but it has not really worked great of late.

[vacendak] 21/6/2019 19:53

... and a 52 weeks high according to an FT automated email.

Still below early 2018, so a lot of ground to regain.

[vacendak] 11/2/2019 19:44

@topvest
Indeed, this is an old one, it would be sad to see it go. Not interested in folding it up personally, so I hope they will get their mojo back soon.

Nostalgia aside, it is always getting shifty when a company needs to go all the way back to 2005 to justify a positive trend, thus, indirectly its existence.

[topvest] 11/2/2019 18:38

Yes, but I’m hoping they can outperform as it would be a real disappointment to kill off this historical trust. I suspect their poor performance has a lot to do with a high exposure to Aberdeen. Their investment approach has had a weak decade. That being said, value should do better in the next decade.

[vacendak] 11/2/2019 13:14

There is still a while to go until January 2021, but yes, there seem to be a reaction!
The multi-manager structure has been reshuffled not that long ago, so I am not advocating culling any of them, but having the board cracking the whip a little is a welcome development.

[killing_time] 11/2/2019 12:25

Wow, that will close the discount.

[vacendak] 11/2/2019 09:10

The board is not happy:

[vacendak] 09/10/2017 12:35

Well, I shall now eat my hat. :)

[vacendak] 28/9/2017 17:33

A month in, the changes do not seem to be pushing things in the right direction.

[vacendak] 12/4/2017 11:08

Got in around 280 to rebalance the portfolio a bit towards Asia/Japan, drip-feeding monthly, cannot complain so far.

The 15%-ish discount is sadly persistent.

[luckymouse] 22/9/2016 04:58

Buybacks doing a good job here