Katherine Garrett-Cox's greatest test at Alliance? It is not the first time Laxey - which as The Sunday Telegraph reveals today has the tacit backing of activist investor Elliott International, which owns a 3.48pc stake in Alliance - has attempted to exert change at the UK's biggest investment trust. A year ago, Laxey put forward resolutions which centred on Alliance's buy-back policy. Although Laxey lost, the company has bought back approximately 12pc of its equity through buy-backs. Yet it is not Kingsnorth who presents the biggest threat to the all-female status quo at the helm of Alliance. That comes from Martin Gilbert, the ambitious chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, who last week admitted publicly in The Daily Telegraph that he would like to run Alliance. Gilbert has spent the past few weeks developing a plan he believes could deliver him a substantial prize, and he has spoken to major investors in Alliance in an attempt to gain traction. However, Forseke does not seem to believe - or perhaps does not want to publicly admit - that Gilbert is a far bigger threat than Kingsnorth. "I have not spoken to him," she says. I feel this is about this requisition and that's what I want to focus on. Another major shareholder, Speirs & Jeffrey, which owns a 3.31pc stake, is set to discuss replacing Garrett-Cox with an external fund manager when it meets Forseke later this month. "Externalising the management, you simply put another layer in place," argues Forseke. In addition, she added, "externally managed trusts tend to have a focus on short-term returns." But Forseke, who took over from Lesley Knox on April 2, does not really want to discuss Aberdeen's plan of attack, and instead centres her attack on Laxey. It's to my surprise that Katherine had, on the back of annual results [published on March 6] done a roadshow to have a dialogue, and having met with them [Laxey], they had not mentioned it. Forseke says she carried out a great deal of personal due diligence before signing up to the role, and is very supportive of Garrett-Cox, her cost-cutting measures and the way the trust is managed. But whether she is still in control of the direction of the trust - given the apparent growing shareholder unease - remains to be seen. Alliance's financial performance speaks for itself. Based against the FTSE All World Index, Alliance's favoured comparator, there have been five years of consecutive under-performance. On an average 11-month basis, Alliance Trust's share price sits on a discount to net asset value of 14.9pc. Simon Elliott, head of Winterflood's investment trusts research team, says he thinks Laxey's aims are probably justified. Performance remains dull at best and there is evidence of a substantial style drift. In addition the discount remains in the mid-teens, substantially wider than its peers," he said, calling on Forseke to keep an "open mind" when meeting Alliance's investors. But it is not just the discount which appears to be rankling investors. Several suggest Alliance should take advantage of the new tax rules, which Garrett-Cox does not support. Investment trusts can now distribute realised capital gains. The move allows trusts to increase yields to allow shares to trade at a premium to net asset value. "The whole distribution issue is a real potential benefit," Kingsnorth says. He also believes that "Aberdeen is a very serious issue," one which Forseke cannot ignore. I think their performance in funds and ratings is very impressive. One of Aberdeen's most impressive trusts is the £1.1bn Murray International trust, which trades at a 6.7pc premium to its NAV. Place Murray and Alliance's share register alongside one another, and the same names appear: DC Thomson, the Dundee-based media group, Brewin Dolphin, Legal & General, Speirs & Jeffrey and Rathbone. DC Thomson, which controls an 8pc stake in Alliance, making it the largest independent holder, usually keep its counsel on such matters. But a source close to the situation said that while Gilbert has recently attempted to persuade chief executive, Christopher Thomson, to publicly back him, "they would never take a leading role." Though the Thomson clan are thought to be less sympathetic to Garrett-Cox and the board, they are very keen on keeping Alliance and its jobs in Dundee. To allow Aberdeen chance to succeed, it is thought Laxey may not fight as vocally for its resolutions as it did last year, amid fears some of the more traditional shareholders may not want to be seen to support an activist. That may give Forseke some room to breathe, but whether it is enough time to allow her to maintain the status quo must be in doubt.