# Witan Investment Trust Witan Investment Trust is an Investment Trust based in London, United Kingdom. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Investment Trust - **Headquarters:** London, United Kingdom - **Region:** Europe - **Address:** London, United Kingdom - **Founded:** 1909 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** witan.com - **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/witan-investment-trust - **Wikidata:** Q8027800 ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About Witan Investment Trust launched in 1909, putting it among a handful of London-listed funds that predate both world wars. For most of its final chapter as a standalone entity, Andrew Bell served as chief executive — retiring in 2024 upon the merger — while Andrew Ross chaired the board. The trust never had a wealthy founding family; instead it grew as a publicly listed vehicle designed to give retail and institutional holders diversified access to global equity markets. The trust's strategy rested on a multi-manager model uncommon among its peers. Rather than building a large in-house team, Witan's board allocated its portfolio across a roster of external fund managers. Lansdowne Partners ran roughly 20% of the core portfolio, and Lindsell Train managed about 17%, with the balance spread among other specialist managers. The trust targeted public equities across developed and emerging markets, with a geographic footprint spanning North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Holdings shifted over the decades, but the mandate stayed resolutely long-only global stocks. By the time the merger closed, the combined Alliance Witan entity positioned itself as one of the larger UK investment trusts. While headcount and precise AUM were not publicly itemized in the post-merger filings, the trust operated from its long-time London address at 14 Queen Anne's Gate. The firm maintained a modest philanthropic vehicle Andrew Bell had previously chaired the Association of Investment Companies. September 2024: Witan completed its merger with Alliance Trust to form Alliance Witan Plc, with Andrew Ross becoming deputy chair of the combined entity (per the firm, September 2024). What set Witan apart structurally was its board-directed multi-manager approach. Most investment trusts hire one manager; Witan hired several and fired them when performance lagged — a discipline that placed the trust closer to a fund-of-funds than a traditional closed-end fund. The 2024 merger absorbed this architecture into a larger vehicle, but the core logic — delegate, diversify, and replace underperformers — was the trust's signature for decades. ## Sectors - Global Equities ## People - Andrew Ross — Former Chairman; Deputy Chair of Alliance Witan - Andrew Bell — CEO (2010-2024) ## Questions ### What happened to Witan Investment Trust? Witan merged with Alliance Trust in September 2024 to form Alliance Witan Plc. The combined entity continues to trade on the London Stock Exchange as a global equity investment trust. Andrew Ross, Witan's former chairman, became deputy chair of the merged board, while former CEO Andrew Bell retired upon completion of the merger. ### How did Witan's multi-manager model work? Rather than employing a single portfolio manager, Witan's board allocated its capital across multiple external fund managers with different styles and geographic focuses. Lansdowne Partners ran approximately 20% of the core portfolio and Lindsell Train managed about 17%. The trust reserved the right to replace any manager whose performance fell short of benchmarks, making the board the ultimate decision-maker on capital allocation. ### Who made investment decisions at Witan? The board of directors made the highest-level allocation decisions — selecting external managers and determining how much capital each received. Day-to-day stock selection rested with those external managers, who ran their sleeves of the portfolio independently. Andrew Bell, as CEO from 2010 to 2024, oversaw this structure and served as the primary liaison between the board and the managers. ### What did Witan invest in? Witan invested exclusively in public equities, spanning developed and emerging markets across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The trust did not allocate to private equity, venture capital, or direct real estate. Its multi-manager approach meant the portfolio contained a broad mix of large-cap, mid-cap, and occasionally small-cap stocks, depending on which managers were in favor. ### How is Alliance Witan different from the old Witan? Alliance Witan Plc is the product of the 2024 merger between Alliance Trust and Witan Investment Trust. It carries forward the multi-manager philosophy that both predecessor trusts practiced, but operates at a larger scale. The merged entity's board includes directors from both legacy trusts, and the combined vehicle aims to deliver lower fees and improved liquidity as one of the largest investment trusts on the London market. ## Related profiles - [Wistron Corporation](https://altss.com/profile/wistron-corporation) - [Withearth](https://altss.com/profile/withearth) --- Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/witan-investment-trust Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology