Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management, investment advisor to Appleseed Fund and high-net-worth individuals, is supporting Sprott Asset Management’s offer to acquire all outstanding units of Central GoldTrust (GTU).

“As Central GoldTrust’s largest unitholder, we’re disappointed that the GTU trustees have so quickly dismissed the Sprott offer,” says Adam Strauss, Pekin Singer Strauss co-CEO. “Not only is Sprott’s exchange offer superior to the status quo, it already has significantly reduced Central GoldTrust’s net asset value discount as others in the market have recognised its value. We expect the discount will be reduced further when GTU’s physical gold assets are exchanged into a product with a superior management team and structure, including a physical redemption feature.”

Conversely, if the Sprott offer is rejected, Strauss anticipates that the discount to NAV at which GTU trades could revert to the -8 per cent level that existed before the Sprott offer was announced.
“As fiduciaries controlling substantial investments in GTU, we believe the Sprott offer will deliver significantly enhanced value to our investors. We’re disappointed that the GTU trustees have not reached the same conclusion. As such, we will tender the units of GTU that we control to the Sprott Exchange Offer,” he says
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Pekin Singer Strauss first purchased Central GoldTrust in 2010 and currently holds more than 1.2 million units through its separately managed accounts and Appleseed Fund, a go-anywhere value mutual fund where Central GoldTrust is a top holding.

Sprott Asset Management, an alternative asset manager, announced April 23 its intention to offer units of Sprott Physical Gold Trust in exchange for units of Central GoldTrust.