Capital at risk: The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested.
Latest from The Merchants Trust
Investment Objective
To provide an above average level of income and income growth together with long-term capital growth through a policy of investing mainly in higher yielding UK companies.
Investment Approach
The Company aims to achieve the objective through a strategy of investing in a portfolio of mainly higher yielding large UK companies and by using appropriate gearing to enhance returns. This strategy is designed for those investors who require a single investment in a diversified and professionally managed portfolio.
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Management Team
Simon Gergel – Lead Portfolio Manager
Simon is Chief Investment Officer, UK Equities and head of the European Value & Income Investment Style Team. He manages The Merchants Trust plc, co-manages the Allianz UK Listed Equity Income Fund, and is deputy portfolio manager on The Brunner Investment Trust and the Allianz UK Listed Opportunities Fund. He joined AllianzGI in April 2006 from HSBC Halbis Partners, where he was Head of Institutional UK Equities, portfolio manager of the HSBC Income Funds and manager of several segregated institutional accounts. Prior to HSBC, Simon was an Executive Director at Phillips & Drew Fund Management Ltd (a subsidiary of UBS), where he spent 14 years as a portfolio manager of UK equity portfolios. Simon graduated from Cambridge University in 1987 with an MA (Hons) Cantab in Mathematics. He is an Associate of the CFA Society of the UK.
Richard Knight – Portfolio Manager
Richard is the lead portfolio manager of the Allianz UK Listed Opportunities Fund, and the co-manager of the Allianz UK Listed Equity Income Fund. He joined AllianzGI in November 2013, initially working in Global Emerging Market Equities. After gaining experience in a number of equity analyst roles, Richard joined the European Value & Income Style Team in March 2018, with a focus on the UK market. Richard specialises in value and income investing and was formerly an analyst covering the European media and telecoms sectors. He graduated from Lincoln College, Oxford University, with a degree in History and Politics, and also holds a masters (with distinction) in Global Economic History from the London School of Economics. Richard is a CFA® charterholder.
Andrew Koch – Portfolio Manager
Andrew Koch joined Allianz Global Investors in October 2023. Andrew has 30 years' experience of value investing in European equities, including as head of the Value & Income Team at Legal & General, and managing the L&G UK Equity Income Fund.