Investment trusts have been around for more than 150 years – but plenty of investors still aren't quite sure what they are, how they work or why they might want one in their portfolio.
In this Investing Unlocked Extra, Georgie Frost is joined by Annabel Brodie-Smith from the Association of Investment Companies to get under the bonnet of one of investing’s oldest – and perhaps most misunderstood – structures.
How can you buy £1 worth of assets for 90p? Why can investment trusts borrow money to invest? And how have trusts opened the door to everything from infrastructure and private companies to SpaceX and Anthropic?
Plus, we look at the battle with activist investors that has shaken up the industry, why ordinary shareholders have more power than they might realise, and what you should look for before investing in a trust yourself.
Please remember: this podcast is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
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Georgie Frost
What is Investing Unlocked?
Investing Unlocked is a smart, straight-talking podcast that decodes the jargon for people who want to make more of their money and understand what really drives investment performance.
Join Georgie Frost, multi-award-winning financial broadcaster, with regular guest Simon Lambert, alongside an impressive lineup of leading financial experts, as they go beyond the latest finance stories to explore the building blocks of investing, the behaviour behind it, the history that shaped it, and the big ideas influencing what happens next.
As investing moves to the centre of financial life in 2026, the show invites in the people traditional finance has left behind.
Investing Unlocked is sponsored by PensionBee.