Brunner Investment Trust
Brunner Investment Trust is an all-weather portfolio which aims to provide growth in capital value and dividends over the long term by investing in global and UK securities. The 40-60 stock portfolio looks to strike a balance between quality, growth and value factors. This exposure to numerous factors separates the portfolio from many of its peers, which tend to focus on growth. The trust has also increased its dividend payment in each of the past 53 years.
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Julian Bishop, Co-Manager Julian Bishop joined Allianz Global Investors in November 2022 as a senior portfolio manager and co-manager of the Brunner Investment Trust. Julian has more than 25 years fund management experience. He joined AllianzGI from Tesco Pension Investment Ltd where he was an equity fund manager managing a multi-billion pound global equities portfolio. Prior to Tesco he was an analyst and portfolio manager at Sarasin and Partners LLP, where he co-managed their global dividend fund. Before Sarasin he was a global consumer analyst at Insight Investment. Julian graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge University in 1995 and has an MA (Hons) Cantab in Geography. He is an associate of the Society of Investment Professionals.
Christian Schneider, Co-Manager Christian Schneider joined the global equity fund management team as a portfolio manager in April 2000 and managed a US Equity strategy until 2002. Christian began his investment career in June 1996 with DG-Bank as a trainee portfolio manager for one year; and then moved to DG Capital in February 1997 to March 2000 as a global equity portfolio manager, where he was also responsible for portfolio construction for equity and balanced funds. Christian graduated with a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Giessen and is a CFA charter holder.
Julian Bishop, Co-Manager Julian Bishop joined Allianz Global Investors in November 2022 as a senior portfolio manager and co-manager of the Brunner Investment Trust. Julian has more than 25 years fund management experience. He joined AllianzGI from Tesco Pension Investment Ltd where he was an equity fund manager managing a multi-billion pound global equities portfolio. Prior to Tesco he was an analyst and portfolio manager at Sarasin and Partners LLP, where he co-managed their global dividend fund. Before Sarasin he was a global consumer analyst at Insight Investment. Julian graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge University in 1995 and has an MA (Hons) Cantab in Geography. He is an associate of the Society of Investment Professionals.
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Christian Schneider, Co-Manager Christian Schneider joined the global equity fund management team as a portfolio manager in April 2000 and managed a US Equity strategy until 2002. Christian began his investment career in June 1996 with DG-Bank as a trainee portfolio manager for one year; and then moved to DG Capital in February 1997 to March 2000 as a global equity portfolio manager, where he was also responsible for portfolio construction for equity and balanced funds. Christian graduated with a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Giessen and is a CFA charter holder.
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Investment process
Brunner Investment Trust is a relatively high-conviction portfolio of 40-60 stocks which is focused on business quality, long-term growth potential and attractive valuations.
Brunner Investment Trust draws on the full resource of AllianzGI’s global platform, looking across all industries and geographies to select the most attractive investment ideas for the trust’s portfolio. The aim is to offer a portfolio that is diversified across a wide range of idiosyncratic opportunities and risks.
The quality factor is about the team understanding the intrinsic attributes of a business model, and the ability of a company to earn high returns on invested capital over a sustained period. Such companies typically have clear competitive advantages, such as network effects, irreplaceable intellectual property, strong brands, or high customer switching costs.
Long-term growth potential is about them understanding the long-term trends shaping both individual industries and the economy and society more broadly (like digitalisation). The team target businesses with strong growth, however, they tend to avoid ‘hyper growth’ businesses which are at an early stage of their life cycle. By contrast, they tend to avoid companies operating in industries in structural decline. The combination of a high-quality business model and long-term growth is a particularly powerful driver of shareholder value.
Value is simply evaluating how much they are willing to pay for a company with those quality and long-term growth characteristics. Particular emphasis is placed on differentiating between structural and cyclical growth. Whilst they will invest in cyclical companies, a much greater value is placed on the structural element.
Brunner Investment Trust has typically held a lower exposure to US equities than many of its global peers. This reduced exposure to the world’s largest economy offers a higher active share but also highlights the strength of the process given the strong performance of the portfolio amid the headwind of US exceptionalism.
The final portfolio consists of 40-60 stocks. Brunner Investment Trust's dividend is paid quarterly, with three equal payments and then a larger financial dividend at the end of the year.
Risk
At the portfolio level, the objective is to ensure that stock specific risk – the risk which results from their stock selection decisions – is the primary driver of the portfolio’s returns. Residual risks such as currency, style, geography or macroeconomics are monitored and managed to ensure that they are not driving the overall portfolio’s returns. Ultimately, the aim is to optimise the portfolio to achieve the dual objective of consistent benchmark outperformance combined with an attractive and growing income.
ESG
Brunner Investment Trust is not an ESG-labelled investment trust. However, the board believes it is in shareholders’ interests that the investment team is aware of and considers ESG factors when purchasing or selling investments. Therefore, the identification of material ESG risk factors may lead to stocks being sold from the portfolio or not being considered for purchase, although the managers will not sacrifice the opportunity to invest based on ESG factors alone.
ESG considerations cover three factors: good governance influences quality, for example; environmental factors will present opportunities for growth; and threats to value. Allianz Global Investors' Sustainability Research team is fully integrated into the broader investment research platform, allowing them to develop a deep understanding of these risks and opportunities.
Gearing
The board looks to enhance returns over the long term through gearing. While Brunner Investment Trust is able to gear up to 20% of net assets at the time of borrowing, in reality gearing has usually been relatively modest in the portfolio. With rates rising in 2022 (and still relatively high despite some cuts in 2024 and 2025) and markets looking fully valued in a number of areas – gearing has been held at relatively low levels (4% at 4 August 2025).
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