Six Retail Investor Champions to celebrate excellence in retail communications within the investment trusts sector

Boring Money names six Retail Investor Champions to celebrate excellence in retail communications within the investment trusts sector

Inaugural awards single out 3i Infrastructure, Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited, F&C Investment Trust, The Merchants Trust, Schroder Asian Total Return and TEMIT for setting the standard on engaging retail investors.

London, 22 September 2026: Boring Money, the independent financial and investment research, data and publishing business, has named six investment trusts as its inaugural Retail Investor Champions, recognising communications and investor engagement that judges say goes well beyond the sector standard.

The Champions: 3i Infrastructure, Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited, F&C Investment Trust, The Merchants Trust, Schroder Asian Total Return, and Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust, were selected from the 48 trusts awarded a Boring Money Rated Investment Trust badge in the inaugural programme, extending Boring Money’s independent consumer ratings framework to investment trusts for the first time. Each was separately assessed by a panel of judges on the quality of its consumer-facing communications, alongside the defined performance, size, currency, discount-to-NAV, gearing and sector criteria applied to the wider Rated list.

With the FCA’s incoming Consumer Composite Investments (CCI) rules set to raise the bar on clear, comparable disclosure, providers investing in quality of communications now are better placed ahead of that shift.

Holly Mackay, CEO of Boring Money, commented: “Consumer understanding is one of the key pillars of Consumer Duty, and one where the investment industry often falls short. Our six Retail Investor Champions have gone the extra mile to communicate with investors and showcase what good looks like. From TikTok videos, to dynamic reports, podcasts and avatar-hosted videos, these trusts are leading the way in moving past the tired old PDFs which investors don’t read.

With CCI on the horizon next year, all investment firms need to re-assess reliance on traditional formats which are not well understood and really focus on better, more engaging articulation of the key concepts of performance, risk and charges.”

What the judges highlighted

• 3i Infrastructure: for a digital-first annual report: an interactive online microsite with a clear, visual portfolio breakdown structured around the megatrends shaping its investment decisions.

• Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited: for breaking the standard template: an investor factsheet judges felt showed “the art of the possible,” alongside a website that presents key investor information clearly and case studies that bring the portfolio to life.

• F&C Investment Trust: for multi-channel engagement: editorial content in national newspapers alongside a rare foray into TikTok and live podcasts.

• The Merchants Trust: for interactive reporting: engaging annual reports with clear, up-to-date financial highlights, dynamic podcast and video content, and its Stock Stories series conveying investment insight in an informal, accessible way.

• Schroder Asian Total Return: for innovating with AI content: a clear annual results summary email paired with AI avatar video content judges found particularly effective in reaching a wider, younger audience.

• Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust: for thinking outside the box: consistent messaging backed by creative engagement including a World Cup quiz and a “Test Before You Invest” calculator.

What this means for the industry

The Retail Investor Champions badge gives providers a way to differentiate on communications quality as well as fundamentals, and gives platforms and distributors an independent signal for surfacing trusts that are getting retail engagement right, carrying the same standard of independent validation Boring Money’s ratings have held since 2019.

Annabel Brodie-Smith, Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) said: “Private investors currently own 27% of investment trust shares, up from 25% two years ago.  It’s important that investment trusts reach out to a wider audience, including the next generation of investors. These Boring Money investment trust ratings will help to get the message out there and reward trusts that are doing a great job.”

Notes

Boring Money’s research is independent, impartial and underpinned by the voice of the customer. The Retail Investor Champions represent the first-year standouts as the investment trust methodology beds in, recognising the firms doing the most to put retail investors first.

Boring Money Insights is an independent financial and investment research, data and publishing business.

Findings referenced are drawn from Boring Money’s Investment Trust Report 2026: Adapting for Growth and The ETF Report 2026, based on a survey of 6,000 nationally representative UK adults (January 2026, including 1,717 non-advised investors); a survey of 853 DIY platform investors (June 2026, including 306 investment trust holders); a survey of 782 self-directed investors from the Boring Money panel (June–July 2026, including 240 investment trust holders); and a survey of 481 self-directed investors from the Boring Money panel (July 2026, including 240 investment trust holders).

The full list of 48 Boring Money Rated Investment Trust winners is available at: [boringmoneybusiness.co.uk/learn/articles/boring-money-rated-investment-trust-winners]

More on the Retail Investor Champions: [boringmoneybusiness.co.uk/events/the-retail-investor-champions-investment-trusts-2026]