Although the two trusts have similar portfolios, Pigit has suffered from holding more in smaller companies (8pc versus 4.9pc for Edinburgh), which have generally struggled against the uncertainty generated by the EU referendum.
By contrast, Edinburgh has benefited from having slightly more in FTSE 100 blue chips (51pc versus Pigit’s 46.6pc) and overseas stocks (16pc versus 12.5pc), which have done well from the weak pound swelling their foreign earnings.
Edinburgh’s fees are also lower. Having dropped its performance fee three years ago, it levies a competitive annual “ongoing” charge of 0.61pc of net assets. Pigit charges 0.65pc but adds a 0.5pc performance fee if it beats the FTSE All Share.
Both trusts have been hit by share price falls at BT and Capita, the outsourcing firm. More broadly, the funds have been dragged down by investors’ move away from the defensive, high-quality income stocks Mr Barnett favours towards stocks more exposed to the economy.
This cooling investor sentiment has seen their shares lag behind their NAV, which is the value of their investments minus debts.
Earlier this week Pigit shares traded at just over 373p, a 10pc discount on the 413.9p per share NAV estimated by Morningstar, the fund analyst. Edinburgh shares stood at 711p, 6.4pc below their estimated NAV of 760.9p.
On the face of it, Pigit looks more cheaply rated. However, its discount has averaged 6.5pc in the past 12 months. By comparison, Edinburgh’s discount is significantly wider than its 12-month average of 2.6pc, meaning it is relatively cheaper than its stablemate.