Sharesoc sets up action group over concerns about Alliance Trust's future strategy

The group will campaign on behalf of investors worried about the trust

Concerns about the future strategy of Alliance Trust, the investment company run by Katherine Garrett-Cox, have led the investors' organisation Sharesoc to set up a new shareholder action group. It will campaign on behalf of investors worried about the trust's direction following the recent annual general meeting and the appointment of new directors supported by the private equity firm –and activist investor – Elliott Advisors.

"Alliance has lost its focus, its performance has been unsatisfactory and its costs have escalated at an alarming rate," said Sharesoc.

"The governance of Alliance Trust is questionable for two reasons," it continued. "First, it is a self-managed trust, which can inhibit the strategic options available to the company. Consequently, the board has tended to focus on supporting the status quo rather than on exploring outsourcing options. Second, two of the members of the board are executives of the trust and are in a chronically conflicted position."

Investors can register their interest in the action group at sharesoc.org/alliance.html.