Forager shares rocket after it unveils delisting plans

The news: Forager Australian Shares Fund has jumped 8.2% after chief investment officer Steven Johnson announced plans to delist the fund due to trading below net asset values (NAV) for extended periods.

The numbers: Forager has been trading at an average discount of more than 15% discount to NAV. FOR's net asset values have increased 5.2% in the three months to September.

The context: Investors first became involved with Forager almost 14 years ago, and for its first seven years it was an "open-ended trust". They voted to convert the fund to a closed-end, listed fund in late 2016, primarily for Forager to run a concentrated portfolio without the liquidity pressures of meeting investor withdrawals.

What they said: "The Manager currently considers that the solution which will be in the best interests of FOR unitholders is likely to be the orderly transition of FOR back to an open-ended fund," The Trust Company wrote to investors.