EDINBURGH fund manager Baillie Gifford has altered the way it charges for running the £1.3 billion Monks Investment Trust, allowing investors to benefit from economies of scale.

At the moment the ongoing charge for the trust is 0.59 per cent per year. As of May the first £750 million of assets under management will incur a charge of 0.45 per cent while the fee for anything above that will be 0.33 per cent. It is expected that the move will reduce the amount paid to Baillie Gifford by around £500,000 a year.

The fund house has already applied similar reductions for running Baillie Gifford Japan, Edinburgh Worldwide and Scottish Mortgage.