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Round a 3rd of the FTSE 250 in the present day is made up of funding trusts. These are corporations that put money into different property, typically different companies.
Because of all the selection, it’s completely potential to construct a diversified and high-quality portfolio via funding trusts. Listed below are two from the FTSE 250 I like in April.
Non-public markets
Schiehallion Fund (LSE:MNTN) is a newcomer to the mid-cap index, having joined in March. Whereas it has greater than doubled in 12 months, the belief stays 36% under highs reached again in 2021, when progress shares overheated.
So what does this quirkily-named Baillie Gifford-run fund do? It invests in later-stage progress corporations not but listed on inventory markets. Acquainted holdings embody SpaceX, TikTok proprietor ByteDance, funds large Stripe, and Claude AI maker Anthropic.
What I like right here is that Schiehallion is sort of choosy about which companies it invests in. In 2024, it solely made six new investments from greater than 600 financing rounds it checked out.
We proceed to judiciously deploy capital solely into these corporations that we regard to signify the easiest personal progress alternatives on supply.
Schiehallion Fund.
Within the first half of 2025, internet asset worth (NAV) elevated 9.9%, pushed by prime holdings SpaceX and Bending Spoons. The latter’s an Italian software program firm that buys and improves well-known-but-underperforming apps or platforms (it not too long ago acquired Vimeo and AOL).
One other factor I like is that the belief’s prepared to remain invested after a agency goes public. Funds like this usually exit their holdings to redeploy money. However right here we see listed shares together with Smart, Affirm, Chime and Tempus AI nonetheless within the portfolio. The goal is to seize extra of a progress firm’s lifecycle.
Wanting forward, one danger is that rates of interest is perhaps heading larger, which may put stress on progress inventory valuations. And whereas a profitable blockbuster SpaceX IPO this summer season may ship Schiehallion shares flying even larger, the alternative’s additionally true.
Weighting issues up, I’m bullish on this distinctive belief’s long-term prospects. The portfolio comprises some thrilling progress corporations, together with Anthropic, Revolut, SpaceX, Databricks, and UK self-driving software program agency Wayve.
Out-of-favour inventory
My second decide is Finsbury Development & Revenue Belief (LSE:FGT), which focuses totally on UK shares. Now, this one’s had a torrid time, falling 25% since January 2025. Over 5 years, Finsbury has declined 17.5%, considerably underperforming the FTSE All-Share index.
Admittedly, there’s a danger that the stock-picking expertise of fund supervisor Nick Practice could now not be as sharp as they as soon as have been. As a result of many picks have carried out very poorly lately, together with Diageo, Fevertree Drinks and Burberry.
In 2026, the belief has been hit by the software program sell-off, because it holds Sage, Experian, London Inventory Alternate, RELX, Rightmove, and Autotrader. In hindsight, piling into so many software program/information platforms was maybe a tad rash.
Taking a contrarian view nonetheless, many of those shares now seem basically undervalued to me. Sage, for instance, is buying and selling at simply 15 occasions subsequent yr’s earnings. Autotrader’s a mere 12.3 occasions.
On prime of this, Finsbury itself is buying and selling at a 7.3% low cost to NAV. There’s additionally a 2.8% dividend yield.
Given the potential for turnarounds at key holdings like Diageo, Experian and Sage, I feel the belief’s value contemplating close to 725p.
