- London-listed technology investment trusts endured a second consecutive day of heavy selling on Friday as Nvidia shares opened 1.7 per cent lower, extending Thursday’s steep 14.3 per cent plunge triggered by Chief Executive Jensen Huang’s resignation after 33 years at the helm.
- Market turmoil intensified following disclosures of a third extramarital affair involving Jensen Huang, compounding earlier revelations of a relationship with a woman suspected by the US government of being a Chinese spy alongside an affair with Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare.
- Heavyweight UK-listed funds with concentrated US semiconductor exposure bore the brunt of the downturn: Manchester & London Investment Trust shed 1.5 per cent on Friday (bringing its monthly loss to nearly a fifth of its value), Polar Capital Technology Trust fell 1.5 per cent (extending a 13.3 per cent drop), and Allianz Technology Trust declined 1.2 per cent (extending a 13.2 per cent drop).
- Over 40 per cent of Polar Capital Technology Trust’s portfolio is invested in semiconductor equities—including Micron, Broadcom, and Microsoft, which experienced a global outage on Thursday—while Manchester & London holds 92.6 per cent of its equity exposure in North America, with Nvidia, Micron, and Broadcom accounting for roughly one-third of its holdings.
- Broader sector headwinds—including concerns over debt-fuelled hyperscaler data centre construction and the Democrats’ resounding US midterm election victory—weighed on AI-focused funds, whereas UK-focused trusts insulated from US technology advanced, led by Nick Train’s Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (up 3.1 per cent last week) and Onward Opportunities (up 1.9 per cent).
London (The Londoner News) November 13, 2026 – London-listed technology investment trusts suffered further sharp losses on Friday as equity markets continued to react to the resignation of Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang after 33 years leading the chipmaker. Following a 14.3 per cent plunge on Thursday, Nvidia shares opened 1.7 per cent lower at Friday’s opening bell amid revelations of a third extramarital affair involving Huang, dragging down US indices and heavily impacting UK-listed funds with concentrated North American semiconductor holdings. While Manchester & London Investment Trust, Polar Capital Technology Trust, and Allianz Technology Trust posted fresh daily declines, domestically focused UK investment trusts with minimal US tech exposure recorded gains.
- What Are the Specific Share Price Losses and Portfolio Exposures Across London Tech Trusts?
- How Do the Affected London-Listed Investment Trusts Compare in Strategy and Performance?
- Background of the Particular Development After the News
- How This Development Can Affect UK Retail Investors, Investment Trust Boards, and Equity Markets
As reported by City A.M.’s markets desk covering London Stock Exchange technology funds, London-listed technology investment trusts endured another bruising sell-off on Friday after Nvidia’s shares were thrown into turmoil by Jensen Huang’s dramatic departure. Nvidia shares opened 1.7 per cent lower at Friday’s opening bell in New York, compounding a steep 14.3 per cent drop on Thursday following revelations of three separate extramarital affairs that culminated in Huang’s resignation after 33 years at the helm of the artificial intelligence chipmaker. The renewed weakness across semiconductor stocks pulled the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index down 0.3 per cent, while the broader S&P 500 shed 0.1 per cent.
As detailed by City A.M. financial reporters tracking the fallout, Friday’s selling pressure was exacerbated by reports of a third extramarital affair involving Huang, adding to earlier disclosures of a relationship with a woman suspected by the US government of acting as a Chinese intelligence asset, as well as a relationship with Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare.
The leadership crisis surrounding Huang has inflicted substantial losses on several London Stock Exchange-listed technology investment trusts that hold significant positions in the chipmaker, long regarded as the cornerstone of the global artificial intelligence trade. Manchester & London Investment Trust—where Nvidia, alongside fellow US semiconductor manufacturers Micron and Broadcom, accounts for roughly one-third of the total portfolio—has lost nearly a fifth of its market value over the past month. Meanwhile, Allianz Technology Trust has recorded a 13.2 per cent decline in its share price, while Polar Capital Technology Trust has dropped 13.3 per cent; both funds hold Nvidia as their single largest portfolio position. Following the opening of US equity markets on Friday, daily losses deepened across all three trusts, with Manchester & London falling 1.5 per cent, Polar Capital sliding 1.5 per cent, and Allianz shedding 1.2 per cent.
Portfolio concentration in North American hardware and cloud infrastructure has left these funds acutely exposed to sector-wide volatility. More than 40 per cent of Polar Capital Technology Trust’s portfolio is allocated to semiconductor stocks, with Micron and Broadcom ranking among its top ten holdings alongside software giant Microsoft, which suffered a major global outage on Thursday that disrupted critical services across the United Kingdom. Across all three affected trusts, geographic exposure is heavily tilted toward the United States, led by Manchester & London Investment Trust, which maintains 92.6 per cent of its equity exposure in North America, leaving the fund particularly vulnerable to the mass sell-offs affecting the sector over the past week.
Beyond the immediate governance shock at Nvidia, City A.M.’s coverage noted that investor confidence in the longevity of the artificial intelligence boom has been strained by growing apprehension over debt-fuelled hyperscaler data centre expansion, compounded by the political implications of the Democrats’ resounding victory in the US midterm elections. In contrast to the downturn among technology specialists, London-listed investment trusts with minimal or zero exposure to US-listed technology stocks posted positive performance. Finsbury Growth & Income Trust, managed by prominent UK fund manager Nick Train, climbed 3.1 per cent over the past week, while UK small-cap specialist Onward Opportunities rose 1.9 per cent.
What Are the Specific Share Price Losses and Portfolio Exposures Across London Tech Trusts?
Market figures reported by City A.M. on November 13, 2026, detail the performance divergence between US-exposed technology trusts and domestically focused UK funds:
- Nvidia Corporation: Opened 1.7 per cent lower on Friday following a 14.3 per cent plunge on Thursday after CEO Jensen Huang resigned after 33 years.
- US Benchmark Indices: The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.3 per cent and the S&P 500 fell 0.1 per cent at Friday’s open.
- Manchester & London Investment Trust: Fell 1.5 per cent on Friday, extending monthly losses to nearly 20 per cent; 92.6 per cent of equity exposure is in North America, with Nvidia, Micron, and Broadcom representing around one-third of the portfolio.
- Polar Capital Technology Trust: Dropped 1.5 per cent on Friday, bringing recent share price losses to 13.3 per cent; over 40 per cent of the portfolio is exposed to semiconductor stocks, with Nvidia as its largest holding alongside top-ten positions in Micron, Broadcom, and Microsoft.
- Allianz Technology Trust: Shed 1.2 per cent on Friday, extending its share price decline to 13.2 per cent; Nvidia is the trust’s largest single holding.
- Non-Tech UK Trusts: Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (managed by Nick Train) gained 3.1 per cent last week, while Onward Opportunities rose 1.9 per cent.
How Do the Affected London-Listed Investment Trusts Compare in Strategy and Performance?
A comparative breakdown illustrates how portfolio concentration shaped market performance during the technology sell-off:
| Investment Trust (LSE-Listed) | Key Portfolio Concentration & Top Holdings | Recent & Friday Share Price Performance | Primary Market Driver |
| Manchester & London Investment Trust | 92.6% North American equity exposure; ~33% in Nvidia, Micron, and Broadcom. | Down 1.5% on Friday; lost nearly one-fifth of value over the past month. | Acute vulnerability to US semiconductor sell-offs and Nvidia leadership crisis. |
| Polar Capital Technology Trust | Over 40% in semiconductors; Nvidia is largest holding; holds Micron, Broadcom, and Microsoft. | Down 1.5% on Friday; share price tumbled 13.3%. | Exposure to Nvidia fallout, Microsoft’s Thursday global outage, and AI capex doubts. |
| Allianz Technology Trust | Heavy US technology weighting; Nvidia is largest portfolio holding. | Down 1.2% on Friday; share price tumbled 13.2%. | Broad retreat from mega-cap US artificial intelligence hardware stocks. |
| Finsbury Growth & Income Trust | Led by Nick Train; minimal/no exposure to US-listed mega-cap tech. | Rose 3.1% over the past week. | Investor rotation toward defensive, non-US-tech UK equities. |
| Onward Opportunities | UK small-cap stockpicking mandate with minimal US tech exposure. | Rose 1.9% over the past week. | Insulation from North American semiconductor volatility. |
Background of the Particular Development After the News
London-listed technology investment trusts—particularly Polar Capital Technology Trust, Allianz Technology Trust, and Manchester & London Investment Trust—ranked among the strongest-performing funds on the London Stock Exchange during the height of the artificial intelligence rally. By concentrating capital in dominant US semiconductor designers, cloud hyperscalers, and software providers, these closed-ended funds delivered substantial net asset value (NAV) and share price returns for UK retail and institutional investors seeking liquid exposure to North American innovation.
However, that high-conviction concentration created single-stock and sector-specific vulnerability when sentiment shifted in the final quarter of 2026. Alongside growing Wall Street scepticism regarding whether debt-financed data centre capital expenditure by major technology firms would generate commensurate near-term returns, the unexpected resignation of Nvidia founder and longtime chief executive Jensen Huang amid national security and corporate governance controversies triggered an abrupt unwinding of crowded AI positions across global equity markets.
How This Development Can Affect UK Retail Investors, Investment Trust Boards, and Equity Markets
The sustained sell-off across London-listed technology trusts is projected to influence portfolio strategy and market dynamics across several key groups:
1. Reassessment of Single-Stock Concentration Risk for UK Retail Investors
For British retail investors holding technology investment trusts within Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), the rapid double-digit declines in Allianz Technology Trust, Polar Capital Technology Trust, and Manchester & London demonstrate how heavily concentrated portfolios amplify downside volatility when a dominant holding faces sudden governance turmoil.
2. Widening Net Asset Value Discounts and Board Buyback Pressure for Fund Managers
For investment trust boards and portfolio managers, sharp share price drops frequently widen discounts between market prices and underlying net asset values, increasing shareholder pressure for active share buybacks, portfolio rebalancing away from mega-cap semiconductors, and clearer risk-management disclosures.
3. Continued Capital Rotation Toward Domestic Value and Non-Tech UK Equities
For broader London Stock Exchange participants, the resilience of funds such as Nick Train’s Finsbury Growth & Income Trust and Onward Opportunities underscores a tactical rotation away from highly valued US technology assets toward undervalued UK domestic equities and defensive income strategies.