Tuesday 16th November 2021
5.00pm - 9.00pm
Programme
5.00 pm Mello welcome and introduction to company presentation by International Biotechnology Trust
5.30 pm Presentation by Paul de Gruchy – Finding new investments for a new Investment Trust portfolio
6.00 pm Company presentation by Primary Bid
6.30 pm MoneyMakers Jonathan Davis and Simon Elliott – New issues and secondary placings with investment trusts – are they good opportunities? What should investors look for? What has been the record so far this year?
7.00 pm Company presentation by Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust
7.30 pm Deborah Fuhr presents on ETFs
7.50 pm Company presentation by VectorVest
8.05 pm Paul Smiddy Book Review – Built on a Lie : The Rise and Fall of Neil Woodford and the Fate of Middle England’s Money, by Owen Walker
8.10 pm Keith Hiscock introduces Hardman&Co
8.15 pm Investment Trusts panel featuring Mark Bentley, Ed Shing, Simon Elliott, Jonathan Davis, Judith MacKenzie
Deborah Fuhr, Managing partner & Founder, ETFGI discusses the pros and cons of investing in ETFs
Deborah Fuhr is the owner, managing partner and founder of ETFGI, an independent research events and consultancy firm launched in 2012 in London. The firm offers paid for subscription research, consulting and events. She is a partner and founder of ETF TV a show to provide a monthly insight into the ETF ecosystem across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific markets for ETFs professionals and investors. Ms Fuhr is a founder and board member of Women in ETFs a non-profit in the United States. She is a founder, board member and co-president of Women in ETFs EMEA a limited company in England.
Previously, she served as global head of ETF research and implementation strategy and as a managing director at BlackRock/Barclays Global Investors from 2008 – 2011. Fuhr also worked as a managing director and head of the investment strategy team at Morgan Stanley in London from 1997 – 2008, and as an associate at Greenwich Associates.
Deborah Fuhr was made a Fellow of CFA UK in January 2020, was the recipient of the ETF.com 2018 lifetime achievement award, 100 Women in Finance’s 2017 European Industry Leadership Award, the 2014 William F. Sharpe Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding and lasting contributions to the field of index investing, the Nate Most Greatest Contributor to the ETF industry award at the 11th annual ExchangeTradedFunds.com awards dinner in 2015, the ETF.com Lifetime achievement award in 2015. She has been named as one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Finance” by Financial News over several years, most recently in 2016, and as one of the “10 to Watch in 2014” by Rep. magazine and wealthmanagement.com. Ms Fuhr won the award for the Greatest Overall Contribution to the development of the Global ETF industry in the ExchangeTradedFunds.com survey in 2011 and 2008 and received an award for her contribution to the ETF sector at the annual closed end funds and ETF event in New York and was featured in the Investors Chronicle’s list of “150 people that can make you money” in 2010.
Ms Fuhr is one of the founders and on the board of Women in ETFs as well as Women in ETFs EMEA chapter, is on the board of Cancer Research UK’s ‘Women of Influence’ initiative to support female scientists. Ms. Fuhr has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Indexes (United States), Journal of Indexes (Europe), and Money Management Executive; the advisory board for the Journal of Index Investing; and the investment panel of experts for Portfolio Adviser, the FTSE ICB Advisory Committee, the International Advisory Committee for the Egyptian Exchange, and the University of Connecticut School of Business International Advisory Board. She holds a BS degree from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Email: deborah.fuhr@etfgi.com
Company Presentation – International Biotechnology Trust plc
International Biotechnology Trust plc (www.ibtplc.com) offers investors access to the fast-growing biotechnology sector through an actively managed, diversified fund. Its lead investment managers at SV Health Investors are scientifically trained with over 35 years of experience in this specialist sector between them. They are supported by over 50 specialist biotech investment professionals at SV Health Investors in London and Boston. As well as investing in a wide-ranging portfolio of global quoted biotechnology stocks, International Biotechnology Trust includes a small allocation to otherwise inaccessible earlier stage unquoted investments predominantly via one of SV’s venture funds. These investments have the potential to deliver additional returns over the long term. Excellent management teams, unique innovative products and strong potential for outperformance are the key criteria for inclusion in IBT’s diversified portfolio of assets.
Ailsa Craig, Lead Investment Manager
Ailsa joined SV Health Investors in November 2006, where she is part of the public markets focused team. Ailsa was appointed as Joint Lead Investment Manager of the Trust in March 2021.
Previously, Ailsa worked as a research analyst, covering pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks.
Ailsa has a BSc (Hons) in Biology from the University of Manchester. She was awarded the IMC in 2002 and the Securities Institute Diploma in 2007.
Marek Poszepczynski, Lead Investment Manager
Marek joined SV Health Investors in 2013, working as a portfolio manager for IBT. Marek was appointed Joint Lead Investment Manager of the Trust in March 2021.
Marek has more than 15 years of experience in the life sciences industry with a focus on business development. He held management positions at Handelsbanken (2010-2012) as lead equity analyst, VP Business Development at Karolinska Development AB (2008-2010) and Licensing Director at Biovitrum AB (2002-2008). Marek received the Swedish Entrepreneurial Distinction in 2015.
Marek holds a MSc in Biochemistry and MSc in Business Management from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Lucy Costa Duarte, Head of Investor Relations
Lucy has served as Head of Investor Relations for IBT since 2016.
Prior to this, Lucy spent 13 years in Equity Capital Markets at Schroders and then Citi, specialising in IPOs and follow-on equity issuance for companies from the emerging markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She holds a BA in Modern Languages (Russian/German) from Durham University.
Company Presentation – Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust
The Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust seeks to provide investors with long-term capital growth through a concentrated portfolio of UK listed companies, typically with a market capitalisation below £150 million. Its UK fund managers Judith MacKenzie and Nick Hawthorn intend to take influential positions in businesses believed to be undervalued and that could benefit from strategic and operational initiatives to drive performance and unlock shareholder value.
Judith MacKenzie, Partner & Head of Private Equity
Judith joined Downing in October 2009. Previously she was a partner at Acuity Capital managing AIM-quoted VCT and IHT investments and a small-cap activist fund. Prior to Acuity, Judith spent nine years as a senior investment manager with Aberdeen Asset Management Growth Capital as Co-Fund Manager of the five Aberdeen VCT, focusing on technology and media investments in both listed and private companies. Judith is a non-executive director of the Quoted Companies Alliance and is an active member on boards both in the private and public arenas. Judith founded Downing Fund Managers in 2010, the boutique investment arm of Downing LLP.
Nick Hawthorne, Fund Manager
Nick joined Downing in September 2015 from BP Investment Management, where he worked in the private equity team. Prior to this, he worked for Aberdeen Asset Management in group finance. Nick is a CFA level III candidate and holds a MSc. in Finance and Investment from Durham University and a MA in Accounting and Economics from the University of Aberdeen. He also holds the Investment Management Certificate.
Money Makers – Join Jonathan and Simon for the latest Investment Trust news
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.
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.
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.
Book Review : Built on a Lie : The Rise and Fall of Neil Woodford and the Fate of Middle England’s Money, by Owen Walker
The definitive account of the Neil Woodford scandal from the award-winning FT journalist who first broke the story. This is the gripping tale of Britain’s top investor’s fall from grace and the shattering consequences. The proud owner of a sprawling £14m estate in the Cotswolds, boasting a stable of eventing horses, a fleet of supercars and neighbouring the royal family, Neil Woodford was the most celebrated and successful British investor of his generation.
He spent years beating the market; betting against the dot com bubble in the 1990s and the banks before the financial crash in 2008, making blockbuster returns for his investors and earning himself a reputation of ‘the man who made Middle England rich’. As famous for his fleet of fast cars and ostentatious mansions, he was the rockstar fund manager that had the lifestyle to match.
But, in 2019, after a stream of poorly-judged investments, Woodford’s asset management company collapsed, trapping hundreds of thousands of rainy-day savers in his flagship fund and hanging £3.6bn in the balance. In Built on a Lie, Financial Times reporter Owen Walker reveals the disastrous failings of Woodford, the greed and opulence at the heart of his operation, the flaws of an industry in thrall to its star performers and the dangers of limited regulation. With exclusive access to Woodford’s inner circle, Walker will reveal the full, jaw-dropping story of Europe’s biggest investment scandal in a decade.
(Found via goodreads.com https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55354898-built-on-a-lie)
Paul Smiddy
Reviewed by Paul Smiddy
Paul trained as an accountant with Price Waterhouse; worked in a corporate finance role for J Sainsbury plc, then spent 25 years as an analyst of the retail sector in UK and Europe at a variety of stockbrokers and investment banks. Since retirement has been trustee of aviation-related charities, and NED of the country’s biggest military charity’s trading arm. Now a writer of non-fiction, mostly with some connection to the world of aviation. And enjoys active management of his portfolio unfettered by compliance departments. Tends to be growth –oriented, and portfolio includes some non-quoted companies. Other interests are sailing, skiing, books and flying.
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Paul de Gruchy, a Director at ShareSoc presents: Finding new investments for a new portfolio
Paul de Gruchy, Director at ShareSoc
Paul is a seasoned and experienced investor in Investment Trusts and Funds. He has a background in law, latterly as Head of Legal for BNP Paribas Offshore, where he helped establish a large number of listed investment funds. Before that he spent time developing financial services policy and legislation for the regulator and government in Jersey.
Since moving to the UK in 2016, he has focused on investing, running a high conviction portfolio of small cap, cash generative stocks that are overlooked by the market but have potential for significant growth. Paul is also a non-executive director of GCP Infrastructure Investments, a FTSE 250 listed investment company, which gives him a direct understanding of the responsibilities of the modern board.
Investment Trust & Funds panel session with Q&A
Jonathan Davis – Money Maker
Mark Bentley – ShareSoc
Simon Elliott – Money Maker
Karin Schulte – ShareSoc
Edmund Shing – private investor in Investment Trusts & Funds