Thirteen investment trusts have continuation votes coming up over the next five weeks, with the most imminent being those of Impax Environmental Markets and US Solar Fund tomorrow, according to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).
These are followed by continuation votes at Fidelity Japan Trust and BlackRock World Mining on Wednesday, then Nippon Active Value Fund and Downing Renewables & Infrastructure both on 5 June. For a full table of upcoming continuation votes, see below.
Continuation votes may be regular (for example, every three or five years) or triggered by an event, such as a particular discount level being breached. In a continuation vote, which generally coincides with an investment trust’s annual general meeting (AGM), shareholders decide if they want the trust to continue in its current form, or wind up and return the proceeds to shareholders.
Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “One of the benefits of being an investment trust shareholder is that you get a say in key decisions about the future of the company. There are few decisions more fundamental than whether the company should keep going or wind up and it is important the views of all investors are heard.
“Our campaign, ‘My share, my vote’, is calling for a change to company law so that voting rights are always passed on to shareholders. At the moment, nominees such as platforms can choose whether to pass on voting rights and information. This must be made mandatory so that no shareholder is denied the right to have their say.”
More information on the AIC’s ‘My share, my vote’ campaign can be found on the campaign webpage. The AIC is calling on all shareholders and other stakeholders to sign its petition on the government website, which was launched last month and now has more than 1,600 signatures.
Upcoming continuation votes
| Investment trust | AIC sector | Date of continuation vote | Frequency of continuation vote |
| Impax Environmental Markets | Environmental | 20/05/2025 | 3 yearly |
| US Solar Fund | Renewable Energy Infrastructure | 20/05/2025 | Discount triggered |
| Fidelity Japan Trust | Japan | 21/05/2025 | 3 yearly |
| BlackRock World Mining | Commodities & Natural Resources | 21/05/2025 | Annually |
| Nippon Active Value Fund | Japanese Smaller Companies | 05/06/2025 | 2 yearly |
| Downing Renewables & Infrastructure | Renewable Energy Infrastructure | 05/06/2025 | 5 yearly |
| BioPharma Credit | Debt – Direct Lending | 09/06/2025 | 3 yearly |
| Aurora UK Alpha | UK All Companies | 11/06/2025 | 3 yearly |
| Invesco Bond Income Plus | Debt – Loans & Bonds | 11/06/2025 | Annually |
| Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust | Renewable Energy Infrastructure | 13/06/2025 | 5 yearly |
| JPMorgan US Smaller Companies | North American Smaller Companies | 17/06/2025 | 5 yearly |
| Vietnam Enterprise Investments | Country Specialist | 18/06/2025 | 5 yearly |
| Maven Renovar VCT | VCT AIM Quoted | 19/06/2025 | 5 yearly |
Source: theaic.co.uk / Morningstar. Excludes companies in realisation.
In addition to those listed in the table above, a further 16 investment trusts are expected to hold continuation votes before the end of 2025, with the dates yet to be announced.
