Ann: Shareholder update, page-10

That's the problem for 90% of closed funds... people just want parity.

You now have investors buying into considerable discounts on the false assumption their will be a mass conversion to ETMFs or open style funds.

I get the feeling the whole closed fund industry is being kept alive by retirees and their insatiable appetite for franked dividends.

No manager is going to convert a closed fund without considerable pressure. It's their life blood.

On a happier note, they seem to have stopped with the constant bombardment of LICs of late. Maybe because investors are slowly realising they are better off holding onto their money and giving 10% away to a charity.

I had to roll my eyes with the recent VG8 offering, even with the bonus shares in the fund manager, the LIC dropped the same day, essentially wiping out any benefit from investing in the float.

The only exception in recent memory, has been the Magellan trusts. But they utilised their reputation, a novel discount method (locked in for a few months after the float to avoid same day dumping), and scale. Not to mention they are the flavour of the month.

As for APL, I only see another group of angry shareholders at the AGM. Jacob seems to be much in line with his former Platinum peers, just wait for the reversal back to value. When this happens? No one knows. How long investors will have to forgo earnings, waiting for this? Nobody knows.

GLTAH