One of the more unusual anniversaries has gone by largely unnoticed amid the market sell-off. Namely, that we have reached a year since private equity giant Pantheon International (PIN) turned heads by unveiling a plan to buy back up to £200mn of its own shares in the year to the end of May 2024.
That turned out to be quite an eventful year for the broader sector, with various peers, including HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE), announcing changes to their capital allocation policies to make room for buybacks, and in some cases dividends, in a bid to please shareholders.
Pantheon's announcement prompted quite the debate about whether buybacks can repair sentiment towards investment trusts, especially those operating in embattled alternative asset classes, and how this use of cash might compare with other options. But as some buyback programmes appear to approach an end, it's worth asking what the future now holds for such trusts.