There are many advantages to the closed-ended structure, namely around liquidity, gearing and discounts, yet they can be often overlooked by investors who don’t quite understand these techniques and technicalities. Another reason for being disregarded relates to the profile of trusts. Although they are listed on most investment platforms, trusts are notably absent on some of the biggest.

But should this really make a difference? There are plenty of ways to access investment trusts and the more advisers look to these vehicles, the more likely they will appear on the big investment platforms, particularly as the oft-quoted argument is the lack of demand from clients.

In performance terms investment trusts have delivered strong returns in 2014 and not just in one area, but across a number of different asset classes and regions, such as in India-focused portfolios, which have benefited from the boost in sentiment following the election of Narendra Modi as prime minister last year. But investment trusts have also delivered in the more niche areas of biotechnology and infrastructure.

Alternatives is a growing area for investment trusts with the AIC (Association of Investment Companies) noting that the largest issuances from existing investment companies last year tended to be from the alternative assets sector, as investors continue to widen their hunt for income across both asset classes and investment vehicles.

With the global macroeconomic environment looking more uncertain, and the effects of the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme yet to be fully understood, the need for investors to diversify their portfolios and look for more unusual or overlooked investment opportunities is key – and investment trusts need to be considered as part of this strategy.

In 2014 the best performing AIC sector was the Biotechnology and Healthcare sector with a return of 39.34 per cent, while the best performing Investment Association sector last year was UK Index-Linked Gilts, where funds delivered an average 18.56 per cent.

Figures from FE Analytics also show that the top five AIC sectors, which include property and Asia Pacific, all delivered an average return that beat the best performing open-ended sector in 2014.

Indeed, the property sectors that worked so well within the investment trust sphere struggled in the open-ended market, with the IA Property sector average return of 13.12 per cent underperforming the AIC IT Property – Securities, IT Property – Direct UK and the IT Infrastructure sectors in 2014.

So while individual trusts and funds obviously have their pros and cons, it seems that 2014 was the year investment trusts started to step out of the shadow of their open-ended counterparts. The question is whether investors will start to pay attention and whether the momentum built up by trusts can continue.

Nyree Stewart is features editor at Investment Adviser