Elliott blasts Alliance for its use of ‘scare tactics’

Elliott Advisors lambasted the board of Alliance Trust for behaviour “unbecoming of directors of a public company” as it made its play for the heart and minds of the trust’s tens of thousands of small shareholders.

As it published what it said was a “forensic study” of Alliance Trust’s poor investment performance, high costs and dividend, the New York-based hedge fund accused the trust of resorting to personal attacks and using “scare tactics” to try to win its argument.

The fund, which is Alliance’s biggest shareholder with a stake of more than 12 per cent, also revealed that the Dundee-based investment trust had tried unsuccessfully to buy back its entire holding just over a year and a half ago.

In a revelation that Elliott claimed