2026 Grand National: The case for quality in horses and investing

By Chris Salih on 9 April 2026 in Equities

With a history dating back almost two centuries, the Grand National is undoubtedly one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

Held at Aintree racecourse, the handicap steeplechase is over four miles long and the sight of 34 horses going over the first fence is one of the most famous in all British sport.

An estimated 500 to 600 million people watch the Grand National in over 140 countries, making it a major global event. In 2025, some 13 million people in the UK placed a bet on the race, with approximately £150m staked.

The race itself is all about stamina. Horses have to jump 30 fences and less than half of them usually make it to the end. In short, there are plenty of challenges to navigate, a bit like the investment world, with hairy fences on the Aintree course such as Becher’s Brook (the Global Financial Crisis), The Chair (Brexit) and the Canal Turn (Covid).

There are trends which normally help a punter find the winner (age, weight, fitness and reliability of jumping), but things have changed in recent years, which means these trends are no longer as rigid as they once were (past performance is not a guide to future performance in the investment world).

Quality is the key in both investing and finding a Grand National winner

Today’s Grand National is more of a quality affair. Horses that tend to be relatively lightly raced, but with a lot of class and scope for further improvement, often fare well. Many of those horses may not have been winning recently but instead are being prepared for the big day when the jockey, owner and trainer hope to scoop the £500k first prize. In short – those involved are happy to lose and be patient for the day things turn (inflection points in markets).

Quality investors have also been on the losing side recently for a number of reasons, particularly over the past 18 months or so. AI has been the dominant force in markets in recent years, but the broadening out of markets in 2025 favoured the value names – with financials, natural resources and defence stocks performing well.

We also have Donald Trump doing his best to remove certain economic moats – be it pressure on healthcare companies or swipe/fee limits on the likes of Mastercard or Visa – much of which adversely affects quality companies. The surprise is that geopolitical uncertainty usually pre-empts a risk-off move – which typically favours quality – which we have not really seen on this occasion.

The counter-argument is that quality has been so oversold and is on a big discount to the market – meaning it is a rare opportunity to pick up exceptional companies at attractive prices. The same rules continue to apply if you are willing to be patient – hold quality companies and you get excellent compounding figures over time.

Importantly, quality is still the most successful investment style over the long term. Since 30 January 1994, the MSCI World Quality index has delivered an annualised return of 11.95%, compared with just 8.8% for the MSCI World*.

With this in mind, here are five quality funds (and five horses) to help you take advantage of this investment style at these attractive prices (while also allowing you to pick a winner on Saturday!). Best of luck.

The bookies’ favourite: JPMorgan Emerging Markets Growth and Income (I Am Maximus)

It is very hard to not see how I Am Maximus is not in the frame at the end of the Grand National.  A winner in 2024 and last year’s runner up has quality in spades, having raced in many Grade 1 races. It is also likely to have the best jockey on board in the shape of Paul Townend. The horse will have to carry a fair bit of weight to win the race but should still be there at the end.

Launched in 1991, JPMorgan Emerging Markets Growth and Income has an established long-term track record of investing in emerging market equities, alongside a newly enhanced income focus. The managers essentially want to answer two questions: Is this a business they want to own? And, if yes, what price are they willing to pay for it? Companies are placed into four strategic categorisations: premium, quality, standard or challenged. The majority of JMG (over 90%) currently sits in the premium and quality buckets.

The talking horse: Nutshell Growth (Jagwar)

Jagwar is likely to be a popular horse for the Grand National for numerous reasons: not least that he finishes every race strongly indicating that he enjoys a stamina test – and there is no greater stamina test than the Grand National. The course will suit, he has a good weight and is also young and lightly raced (indicating there is scope for more improvement).

A young fund with a similar scope is Nutshell Growth. Managed by Mark Ellis, the fund is designed to tap into his view that the traditional method of stockpicking is outdated, such as analyst reports which quickly become dated and include a number of biases. Mark starts with a blank piece of paper every two weeks and tries to build a portfolio that can consistently outperform by targeting factors like high returns on equity, high profit margins and momentum. They trade positions because Mark believes the idea of “don’t overpay and do nothing” is a contradiction, as doing nothing often means you are overpaying.

Performance was incredibly strong for the portfolio in both 2023 and 2024, and a 10% return last year is also impressive given the style headwinds it has faced**.

The horse that meet the trends: IFSL Evenlode Global Income (Stellar Story)

Stellar Story also has great scope to improve. He boasts strong form, having beaten good horses in the past at the Cheltenham festival. He also has shown strong stamina and is off an attractive weight (the Grand National is a handicap where horses are weighted based on their past performances).

IFSL Evenlode Global Income was launched in 2017 and focuses on quality, cash-generative businesses, typically favouring defensive sectors like consumer staples, and avoiding cyclical sectors such as financials, basic materials and energy. They take a long-term approach and are not afraid to be radically different from their benchmark. The portfolio is highly concentrated at 45 stocks, however, these holdings will usually have large diverse international revenue streams, thereby mitigating risk. We also like the fund’s objective to grow dividends in the future (it currently yields 2.96%)**.

The classy horse with time on its side: GQG Partners Global Equity (Monty’s Star)

Monty’s Star is another classy younger horse with scope for improvement. Importantly he is also a very good jumper. He has been running in high-class races where he has not been catching the eye – that does not mean he does not have the tools to win here, simply that the environment he has been running in has not suited him.

GQG Partners Global Equity is a concentrated portfolio of quality companies, with strong growth prospects, managed in a benchmark-agnostic fashion. Their focus is on finding companies with durable future-proof earnings, rather than companies which have simply done well historically. GQG aims to capitalise on the mispricing of long-tailed assets, particularly companies with significant growth potential over the next five years.

The solid each-way offering: Fidelity Global Special Situations (Iroko)

There are also some horses which have proven themselves over the trip and are guaranteed to be in the picture again. These horses are like gold dust in a race like the Grand National as they offer a degree of protection as you know they can navigate uncertainty well.

A concentrated fund with a bit of everything (including quality) is Fidelity Global Special Situations. Managed by Christine Baalham and Tom Record, the process sees investments categorised into three pillars: corporate change – spotting a big structural change in a business; compounding value – returns driven by free cash flow; and sustainable growth and unique businesses – ability to scale with an exceptional growth opportunity.

*Source: index factsheet, 31 December 2025
**Source: FE Analytics