Morningstar

The Best and Worst Performing Investment Trusts in January 2026

Private equity investment trusts were among both the best and worst performers.

Key Takeaways

  • Shares in the best-performing investment trust rose 35% in January, while the worst performer lost 14%.
  • A surge in the uranium spot price drove up Geiger Counter’s share price.
  • Of the 200 trusts surveyed by Morningstar, 150 rose in January, and 14 trusts rose by over 10%.

Each month, we check in on the returns of UK-listed investment trusts.

In January, investment trusts focused on natural resources, Latin America, UK small-cap stocks and Asia ex-Japan equities featured among the strongest share price movers, while those investing in India equities struggled.

Private equity trusts had a mixed start to the year: Three trusts were among the best 10 performers, while three other private equity investment trusts featured among the worst 10.

Geiger Counter GCL was the best performing investment trust in January 2026, up 35% in the one-month period, continuing a strong run after its share price rose 32.60% in 2025. The trust, which focuses on the uranium industry, soared 20% in the final week of the month as uranium spot prices bounced. Uranium prices have since settled lower, only 5% higher this year on Feb. 9, according to FactSet.

Schiehallion Fund MNTN, the largest trust among the best 10 performers, grew 23.30% in January. The private equity company is one of four Baillie Gifford-managed investment trusts with significant exposure to SpaceX, which has driven significant portfolio returns over the past months following recent upwards valuations. The space exploration company was valued at £800 billion at the end of 2025, and a more recent valuation has estimated the company to be worth between £825 billion and £1.25 trillion, following its acquisition of another one of Elon Musk’s companies, private AI company xAI.

Among trusts with a Morningstar Medalist Rating, Silver-rated JPMorgan Emerging Markets Dividend Income JEMI was the best performer, up 8.77% in share price terms, finishing 17th for the month. At the end of the month, it was trading at an 8% discount to the net asset value, which rose 6.86% in January.

Best Performing Investment Trusts in January 2026

Geiger Counter GCL

In January, the £79 million Geiger Counter rose 35% on a share price basis. This was in line with the net asset value or NAV, which grew 38.56% over the month. The trust, which invests in securities and financial instruments in the uranium sector, saw its share price trade at a 8.47% discount to its NAV at the end of January. The CQS trust has a five-year annualized share price growth of 25.81% and a NAV growth of 29.38%.

Baker Steel Resources BSRT

The £145 million Baker Steel Resources rose 25.16% on a share price basis over the month. The Baker Steel Capital Managers trust, which invests in unlisted natural resources companies, was trading at a 28.68% discount to its NAV at the end of January. Launched in April 2010, the trust has a five-year annualized share price return of 3.54% and a NAV return of 7.48%.

Schiehallion MNTN

The £1.32 billion Schiehallion trust’s share price grew 23.30% over the month while its NAV fell by 0.46%. On Jan. 29, it traded roughly in line with its NAV. The private equity trust, which launched in March 2019, has seen its share price fall 0.21% on a five-year annualized basis, while its net asset value has risen 3.91% on average.

BlackRock Latin American BRLA

BlackRock Latin American’s share price rose 20.53% in January 2026, surpassing the 15.86% growth in net asset value. The NAV underperformed the Morningstar EM Americas TME Index, which rose 15.73% at the start of 2026. At the end of the month, the £144 million investment trust’s shares were trading in line with the fund’s NAV. Over the longer term, the BlackRock trust’s share price and NAV have both grown; in a five-year period, the share price has an annualized return of 11.95% and a NAV return of 9.60%. Meanwhile, the benchmark index has risen further, with a five-year return of 13.27%.

River UK Micro Cap RMMC

The £93 million River UK Micro Cap’s share price rose by 16.28% in January while the trust’s net asset value grew 9.81%, leaving shares at a 12.11% discount. The NAV outperformed the Morningstar UK Small Cap TME Index by 5.24 percentage points. Over an annualized five-year period, the River Global-managed trust’s shares are up 1.68% and the NAV has grown 2.29%. The Morningstar index has a five-year annualized return of 4.74%.

Performance of the 10 Worst Investment Trusts in January 2026

Over 50 trusts fell in January and the largest share price falls were seen among private equity and Indian equity focused vehicles. According to Ben Yearsley, director at Fairview Investing, India is struggling to “shake off the stigma of high valuations and a weak rupee, which in turn has led to investors pulling money out of a weak equity market”.

The £393 million investment trust, Sherborne Investors SIGC, which invests in undervalued companies, dropped the furthest over the month, down 13.94%, while the £2.5 billion private equity trust HgCapital HGT, the largest among the worst 10 performers, fell 10.85%. The Morningstar-rated fund with the worst performance in January was Finsbury Growth & Income FGT, down 5.72%, making it the 13th worst performer overall.

At the Finsbury Growth & Income AGM in January, manager Nick Train survived a key shareholder vote on the trust continuing in its present form.

How We Calculate UK Investment Trust Returns

There are two main ways to calculate investment trust performance. With real-time pricing it’s easy to see the daily share price. Another way is to look at the net asset value, or NAV, which is the value of the trust’s underlying assets. The share prices trade at a discount or premium to their NAV, a measure of whether trusts are in or out of favor with investors.

For example, one of the top performers, Schiehallion, fell 0.46% over the year in NAV terms. In share price terms, however, the trust grew 23.30%, a gain rather than a loss for the theoretical investor who bought shares on Jan. 1 and held them until Jan. 31.

Data in this article is taken from Morningstar Direct.

  • Net asset value is determined by taking the change in NAV at the end of the period, reinvesting all income and capital gains distributions during that month, and dividing by the starting NAV.
  • Share price, or market-price return, is calculated by taking the change in the trust’s close market price, reinvesting all income and capital-gains distributions at the ex-date during the period, and dividing by the starting close market price.
  • Discount is based on the ex par NAV, which excludes income and assumes debt repayments are made at par value.
  • We have also excluded trusts without a disclosed fund size, trusts below £20 million, venture capital trusts (VCTs), direct real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar's editorial policies.

©Copyright 2026 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.