Menhaden Resource Efficiency (MHN)

Managed by Ben Goldsmith, Luciano Suana and Graham Thomas and sitting withing the AIC’s Environmental sector, MHN is an investment trust focused on companies – both public and private – that “are demonstrably delivering or benefiting significantly, from the efficient use of energy and resources.” Key positions within the highly concentrated 16-holding portfolio include Alphabet (23.6%) and Microsoft (11.2%), along with several transportation and infrastructure companies. Since launch in 2015, the company has delivered a NAV return of 40.8%. In this interview, Ben and Luciano discuss the holdings within the portfolio, and why they believe the efficient use of resources, in particular energy, is the most important factor in environmental investing. They also explain why they target heavy energy users rather than energy providers and those providing energy reduction technologies; how their agnostic approach to public and private deals boosts returns; and why they believe the high-quality positions within their portfolio, with significant barriers to entry, mean the current wide discount to NAV is unjustified.