Tuesday 18th January 2022, 2pm

Programme

Welcome and introduction to your co-host, Karin Schulte
2.00 pm Andrew Hollingworth presents his approach to investing in Investment Trusts and Funds
2.20 pm Company Presentation – Impax Asset Management, with Founder and CEO, Ian Simm
2.50 pm Reg Hoare outlines his criteria for selecting Investment Trusts and Funds
3.10 pm Company presentation by Augmentum Fintech
3.40 pm VectorVest – introducing their safe and consistent portfolio growth model (Full session the following day Wednesday 12 noon)
4.00 pm MoneyMakers Jonathan Davis and Simon Elliott present the latest Investment Trust News
4.20 pm Company presentation by Polar Capital Global Financials Trust plc – Global Financials: impact of rising interest rates and economic recovery
4.50 pm Investment Trusts and Funds Panel, including Reg Hoare, Andrew Hollingworth, Paul de Gruchy, Nick Brind hosted by Karin Schulte

Karin Schulte, Investment Trusts and Funds specialist

Karin will be your joint host with David for this event. She has worked in global logistics, investment banking and private equity in Asia for a total of 25 years based in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Karin is currently based in the UK and actively invests in listed and unlisted companies. Karin has extensive experience also in the not-for-profit sector both in the UK and internationally. Karin has a portfolio of roles and has a particular interest in the next generation of leaders.

Andrew Hollingworth Fund Manager at Holland Advisors presents his investment ideas and strategies

Andrew is the founder of Holland Advisors and Portfolio Manager of the VT Holland Advisors Equity fund. The VT Holland Advisors Equity Fund, launched on 21st June 2021, has been converted from the Farnam Street Capital Fund which had been in existence since 2011. Andrew and Holland Advisors provide investment advisory services to some of the world’s largest Investment management houses.

Andrew set up Holland Advisors in 2009 after a 20 year career in stock broking and fund management. He has had a passion for value and franchise investing for many years. When he is not in the office, Andrew can be found reading anything written by great investors or business managers, swinging a golf club or trying to keep up with his wife and teenage boys on a ski slope.

Beneficiaries of rising rates with George Barrow, Fund Manager, Polar Capital Global Financials Trust plc

Polar Capital is a specialist, investment-led, active fund management company offering investors a range of predominantly long-only and long/short equity funds including three thematic investment trusts in the specialist sectors of technology, healthcare and financials.

The company’s open-ended, closed-ended and alternative investment strategies are all based on long-term investment themes, specialist sectors and global, regional or single country geographies. They have a fundamental, research-driven approach, where capacity is rigorously managed to enhance and protect performance.

George joined Polar Capital in September 2010 as an analyst on the Financials Team. He is a co-manager on the Polar Capital Financial Opportunities Fund, with John Yakas, and the Polar Capital Global Financials Trust, with John and Nick Brind.
He has over 10 years’ experience analysing Europe, Asia and emerging markets. Prior to joining Polar Capital, he was an analyst at HIM Capital from 2008 where he completed his IMC.

Company Presentation – Impax Asset Management, with Founder and CEO, Ian Simm

Founded in 1998, Impax is a specialist asset manager, with approximately £41.4 billion as of 31 December 2021 in both listed and private markets strategies, investing in the opportunities arising from the transition to a more sustainable global economy.

Impax believes that capital markets will be shaped profoundly by global sustainability challenges, including climate change, pollution and essential investments in human capital, infrastructure and resource efficiency. These trends will drive growth for well-positioned companies and create risks for those unable or unwilling to adapt.

The company seeks to invest in higher quality companies with strong business models that demonstrate sound management of risk. Impax offers a well-rounded suite of investment solutions spanning multiple asset classes seeking superior risk-adjusted returns over the medium to long term.

Impax has ca. 225 staff across six offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland and Hong Kong, making it one of the investment management sector’s largest investment teams dedicated to sustainable development.

Ian Simm is the Founder and Chief Executive of Impax Asset Management Group plc, one of the world’s leading investment managers dedicated to investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy. Impax, which Ian founded in 1998, currently manages ca. £41 billion in listed equity, private equity and fixed income strategies, primarily for institutional owners. Prior to Impax, Ian was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company advising clients on environmental strategy.

Outside Impax, Ian is a member of the UK government’s Net Zero Innovation Board, which provides strategic oversight of public sector funding of energy innovation programmes. He is also a board member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the European membership body for investor collaboration on addressing climate change, a member of the Energy & Climate Change Board of the Confederation of British Industry, and a Commissioner with the Energy Transitions Commission. Between 2013 and 2018 he was a board member of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the UK’s leading funding agency for environmental science.

Ian Simm, Founder and Chief Executive

Company presentation – Augmentum

Augmentum Fintech invests in fast growing fintech businesses that are disrupting the financial services sector. Augmentum is the UK’s only publicly listed investment company focusing on the fintech sector in the UK and wider Europe, having launched on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018, giving businesses access to patient capital and support, unrestricted by conventional fund timelines and giving public markets investors access to a largely privately held investment sector during its main period of growth. Their portfolio of 24 fintech companies includes Tide, interactive investor, Grover, Onfido, Volt and Farewill.

Tim Levene – CEO

Tim Levene is CEO of the UK’s only publicly listed, fintech-focused investment company Augmentum Fintech. After launching the first iteration of the fund in 2010 with the backing of RIT and Lord Rothschild, Tim and Co-Founder Richard Matthews launched Augmentum Fintech plc on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018. Tim has sat and currently sits on multiple fintech boards including Interactive Investor, Tide, Zopa, Farewill, iwoca and Monese and is highly active in cross-industry initiatives working to boost the UK fintech sector, including the UK FinTech Strategy Group. An experienced entrepreneur, Tim co- founded juice bar business Crussh and being a founding employee of Flutter.com, the latter of which became one of the highest profile digital businesses in the UK after it merged with Betfair.com in 2001.

VectorVest – Safe and Consistent Portfolio Growth

About VectorVest

VectorVest is the only stock analysis and portfolio management system that analyzes, ranks and graphs over 16,500 stocks each day for value, safety and timing and gives a clear buy, sell or hold rating on every stock every day. VectorVest now comes complete with the UK, USA, CA, AU and all of Europe databases.

VectorVest gives you ANSWERS, not just data. What to buy. What to sell. Most importantly, WHEN. Unbiased, independent answers. Investment guidance provided at a glance or through your own analysis.

David Paul, Managing Director

Reg Hoare presents his selection criteria when investing in Investments Trusts and Funds

Reg has extensive experience investing in Investment Trusts and Funds. He has gained over 30 years City experience, initially gained with 11 years in investment banking and securities, principally at SG Warburg and Nomura. He switched to financial PR in 1995, and specialises in advising mid market companies, from FTSE 250 to AIM 100 across a number of sectors, and has a long track record of advising in complex situations including IPOs, fund raisings, M&A, crises and restructurings. He also served for 8 years as a Board member of the Investor Relations Society, Europe’s leading body for investor relations practitioners.

Following the event, Reg has kindly answered your questions below for which there was insufficient time on the day:

1. Both of your groupings in your basket talk about strong economic growth and M&A activity. Whilst with hindsight I see it in 2021, does that really hold good in expectations for 2022 especially when these funds are probably close to their peak, and discounts having reduced/premims increased?

2. In your exposure to Private equity/Venture capital, there is no mention of HG Capital(HGT) and Harbourvest Private Equity (HVPE, two of the most successful long term managers in the sector. Any reason why you are shunning them?

3. Do you look at emerging markets at all? For example, have you looked into China?

4. Reg do you still hold Majedie IT?

5. SEC is on the 13% discount. Odysseus does not have a discount, am I not right?

1. Yes I believe my expectations still hold for 2022 – the consensus of economic forecasts is that there will be decent growth in 2022, and my City contacts are unanimous that there is a strong deal pipeline out there. Many small cap and PE / VC funds are not at their peaks any more, and indeed are trading at attractive levels again, having seen profit taking recently, especially those with tech exposure.

2. No reason that I didn’t mention HG Capital or HVPE, two very good trusts. I just don’t have the capacity to own everything in the sector!

3. I do look at emerging markets generally; I tend not to go for single market trusts like China or Vietnam as I don’t know enough about these individual markets to feel confident to own them, and there is more single country risk obviously than in owning a basket. I therefore hold JP Morgan Emerging Markets Income Trust (JEMI) and Henderson Far East Income Trust (HFEL), two well managed funds, which give me a good basket of emerging market exposure (noting the Henderson trust has never had any exposure to Japan).

4: I still hold Majedie IT, indeed it is a core holding of mine and I have been adding on any weakness. My thesis on it is playing out, in terms of the pending disposal of the shareholding in their own manager, which will enable the trust to be run more conventionally, and the refinancing of the expensive debenture debt which is due in 2025.

5. That is correct, it is SEC that is trading at a wide discount and hence if there is a merger of the two trusts, one would expect it to occur at, or close to, NAV, thus closing the discount.

Money Makers – Join Jonathan and Simon for the latest Investment Trust news

Simon Elliott

Head of investment trust research, Winterflood Securities

Simon Elliott has covered the investment trust sector since 2002 when he joined Winterflood Securities. Since 2008 he has headed the research team, which has been highly rated in subsequent Extel Surveys. Simon started his career with PWC, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1998, before working in industry for three years. He completed a MBA with the Cranfield School of Management in 2002.

Jonathan Davis

Editor, Money Makers

Jonathan Davis started his career as a financial journalist on The Times, Sunday Telegraph and The Independent before qualifying as a professional investor. He is a Member of The Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and the author of several books on stock market investment, as well as editor of the annual Investment Trusts Handbook and a senior adviser at Saunderson House.