Baker Steel Resources Trust PLC brings deep expertise to bear in commodities and equities

What does Baker Steel do? Baker Steel Resources Trust Ltd (LON:BSRT) invests in mining and commodity assets worldwide. The company has particular experience and a track record of success in investing in Russia and the Former Soviet Union. How it's doing The coronavirus temporarily knocked the Baker Steel Resources Trust Limited share price sideways in the early part of 2020, but most of the lost ground has been made up and the shares are once more pushing towards five year highs. The company has taken advantage of the strong performance of some of its investments to realise some cash for deployment in new investments. Accordingly, it now no longer holds significant stakes in Polymetal or Ivanhoe. As at May the Baker Steel portfolio was weighted 6.7% towards cash, with the three largest investments being Bilboes, Futura and Polar Acquisitions respectively. Blue Sky Baker Steel takes a longer-term view on commodity prices. For instance, the company has some exposure to copper through its investment in Nussir, which is moving forward with a definitive feasibility study on its Nussir/Ulveryggen copper project in Norway, and sentiment towards the metal might take a short-term hit from the wrangling between the US and China. “In the case of copper, we feel that the medium to longer-term fundamentals are really excellent with the demand and prospects from electric vehicles. I think that’s actually the more important driver than potentially the tariffs,” director Trevor Steel opined. About half of the company’s current portfolio is currently in precious metals but this is largely a by-product of the company’s successful investment in the Prognoz asset. Steel clearly likes the battery metals but it steers clear of what he calls “the more esoteric metals” that are not traded on an exchange; geographically, it also steers clear of projected in “risky countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo”, so do not expect to see the trust taking a punt on cobalt any time soon.