Anyone looking for seismic changes in the investment trust market will have been rewarded with two huge developments in the last few weeks. The first is that Andrew Bell is retiring from his current role at Witan (WTAN) and consequently, the board is using this as an opportunity to review Witan’s management arrangements and is inviting proposals for the future running of the £1.7bn portfolio.

The other big development has been Scottish Mortgage’s blockbuster £1bn two-year share buyback programme which was swiftly followed by news that Elliott has emerged as a top 5% shareholder. Once completed the buyback will amount to 7.8% of the net assets, which is a big number for an investment trust, even one as big as Scottish Mortgage (SMT).

Both developments speak to the constant buzz of restructuring, resizing, and renewed focus on capital allocation sweeping the investment companies’ sector. We’ve seen myriad mergers, numerous buyback programmes and pronounced director dealings. Talking a few weeks ago to one head of secondary funds trading at an investment bank, I found myself nodding in agreement as the hugely experienced trust specialist suggested that we could end up with as few as 200 to 220 London-listed closed-end funds by the time we’re finished.