The GBP287.4 million Liontrust Global Equity Fund, managed by James Dowey and Storm Uru, has been renamed as the Liontrust Global Innovation Fund, to better reflect the way in which it is managed.
James Dowey and Storm Uru have jointly developed the Global Innovation approach to the Global Equity investment process, which is based on the belief that innovation is the most important driver of stock returns.
Dowey started running Liontrust Global Innovation in July 2019 and was joined by Storm Uru in February 2021.
The Fund seeks to invest in companies that are benefiting from disruptive change which is affecting every sector of the economy. Companies must have disruptive innovation to be included in the portfolio.
Dowey says: “The past decade has witnessed a doubling in the rate of innovation – there are currently around 300,000 US patents per year, compared to 150,000 per year in 2000s. Not only that, but adoption of this innovation is speeding up, too. From the late 1970s, PCs took 16 years to spread to 25 per cent of the US population. In more recent times, tablet devices took only two years. At the same time, existing companies are fading away much faster than ever before. The average lifespan of an S&P500 company has fallen from 60 years in 1960 to 20 years today. All of this creates great opportunity.”
Uru adds: “A successful disruptor does two things. First, it creates value for consumers over and above the existing offering in the market. This means lower price, higher quality or a combination of both. Second, it captures a significant share of that value. Good disruption investors only invest when they see both.”
The Fund is diversified by geography and sectors, and the managers seek to ensure that the performance of the individual businesses they invest in have a meaningful impact on the Fund’s long-term returns.
The duo also manages the Liontrust Global Dividend Fund.
