Investment trust buybacks see rapid turnaround

Investment trust buybacks have seen a rapid turnaround in March following February's all-time low of £11m, with £26.3m of share repurchases taking place in the first 20 days alone. HSBC investment trust analyst Paul Locke said the number of buybacks looks likely to continue to grow and the level of repurchases by total value for the month could reach its highest level since September 2002. HSBC Republic and Witan made the largest buybacks by value, with JPMorgan Fleming Russia and Ivory & Sime UK Smaller Companies also buying in stock for cancellation.