Barnett ousted from PLY: Justified or a 'Doctor Doom' moment?

Could spell bottom for value, say experts

Lauren Mason
clock • 4 min read

Monday's news (6 April) that Mark Barnett and Invesco will no longer be running the Perpetual Income and Growth trust (PLY) comes as "little surprise" to many investment professionals given its underperformance over recent years, but will likely be viewed as an attractive prospect for fund managers given its shareholder base and 'dividend hero' status.

Others, meanwhile, have questioned whether the removal of Barnett from the £620m trust resembles the sacking of well-known contrarian manager Tony Dye in 2000, who avoided tech stocks during the run-up to the bursting of the dotcom bubble. PLY, which has been managed by Barnett for more than 20 years, has underperformed both its FTSE All-Share benchmark and its average peer in the IT UK Equity income sector over one, three, five and ten years, having been the single-worst performing UK equity income trust over the last half a decade. Over the last three months alone, it has lost 41.9%, a...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Investment

Decoding the conflicting investment advice of Warren Buffett

Decoding the conflicting investment advice of Warren Buffett

'He leaves us with a wealth of opinion and information about markets and investing'

Laith Khalaf
clock 09 December 2025 • 5 min read
Private assets in wealth management: The time for talking is over

Private assets in wealth management: The time for talking is over

'The first barrier to adoption is accessibility through existing infrastructure'

Russell Andrews
clock 08 December 2025 • 4 min read
China: Beyond trade tensions and tariffs

China: Beyond trade tensions and tariffs

'So what do you think about China?'

Gabriel Sacks
clock 05 December 2025 • 4 min read