Marlborough is relaunching the Marlborough Technology Fund as the Marlborough Global Innovation Fund to enable Manager Guy Feld to invest in a broader range of highly innovative technology and technology-enabled companies around the world.
Previously 80 per cent of the fund had to be invested in the shares of companies formally classified as either technology or telecommunications businesses.
Now the fund’s investment policy is to be updated to give Feld greater freedom to invest in businesses that, while not formally categorised as technology companies, have strong growth prospects because of the innovative or highly effective way they use technology or business processes.
Feld says: “Technology companies can sometimes be thought of very narrowly as those producing hardware, software and services based around silicon chips. We’re interested in exceptional companies doing that, of course, but we believe the opportunity set for this fund should be far greater.
“There are so many companies not formally classified as ‘technology’ companies that generate value through being technology-enabled.
“We’re hugely interested in these technology-enabled companies, those with strong and distinctive intellectual property and those that are putting great tech to work in innovative and creative ways to shake up existing markets or open up new ways of doing things.
“We also see very attractive opportunities in non-chip-related companies that are still breaking new ground because of their distinctive and/or innovative intellectual property, business models and know-how.
“The greater freedom we’ll have to invest in this broader range of companies will enable us to take advantage of some very exciting opportunities.”
The changes will take effect on 22nd September and as a result the fund will move from the Investment Association’s Technology & Telecommunications sector to the IA Global sector. At least 50 per cent of the fund will be invested in smaller companies and it is expected that a minimum of half of the portfolio will be invested in a mixture of companies listed on North American and UK markets.
Feld says: “While we hold some outstanding large cap stocks, our particular expertise is at the small cap end of the market, so our primary focus will be finding the next generation of technology, technology-enabled or IP-driven success stories.
“Rather than focusing on the ‘megatechs’, we’re looking for the companies with the potential to grow into the technology giants of tomorrow. We’re also looking for opportunities where market inefficiencies have resulted in attractively priced small cap and mid-cap situations.”
Feld was appointed manager of the fund on 1st September 2020, following the retirement of Conor McCarthy, who had run it since launch in May 2003.
With more than 28 years’ investment experience, Feld also co-manages the Marlborough UK Micro-Cap Growth, Marlborough Nano-Cap Growth and Marlborough Special Situations funds.
Richard Goodall, CEO of Marlborough, says: “Guy’s a first-class stock-picker, with a strong process and a wealth of experience investing in technology and technology-enabled companies. When you combine technology and innovation, that’s the future and we believe the Global Innovation Fund offers fund buyers a genuinely distinctive opportunity.
“Given Guy’s broader remit and smaller company bias, we wouldn’t expect this fund to mirror the global technology indices and it’s certainly not focused on the tech giants of today. Instead, it’s an opportunity to invest in a fund managed by a skilled stock-picker, following a strong process to unearth the tech and tech-enabled companies he believes have the potential to grow into the success stories of tomorrow.”
