Rathbone Global Opportunities

Rathbone Global Opportunities is a global growth fund looking to buy innovative companies. It aims to identify global themes and invest in them early. It has been managed by James Thomson for more than a decade and has one of the strongest track records in its sector.

Our opinion

This fund is a truly active, unconstrained growth fund run by an experienced manager. James' high conviction contrarian strategy has proven itself over many years. He is not afraid to admit his weaknesses or past errors, a refreshingly honest approach, which allows him to concentrate on his core strengths.

Fund manager

James Thomson joined Rathbone in 2000. In 2003, he became co-manager of the Global Opportunities fund and in July 2005 he became the sole manager. James grew up in Bermuda, before attending Cornell University in the USA. He joined Rathbones straight after graduating and was later appointed as a Board Director of Rathbone Unit Trust Managers in 2006. Until recently James once lived on a houseboat on the Thames.

James Thomson

High-quality cooking - our ‘secret sauce’ investment philosophy - clearly identifies and focuses on specific ‘ingredients’ or qualities that we like to see in companies. We add value through high-impact stockpicking, being able to assess and take calculated risks to uncover hidden, potentially lucrative, investment gems.

James ThomsonFund manager

Investment process

James has a contrarian philosophy, investing in undiscovered, out-of-favour growth companies. He believes there is a bias against growth companies, because the majority of funds have a value bias. He likes simple, scalable businesses with entrepreneurial and flexible management teams. The fund is unconstrained, but has historically had very little direct exposure to emerging markets.

Risk

The fund changed its approach after the global financial crisis and added a core defensive bucket of reliable growth stocks. These core holdings have helped reduce the fund's volatility. James has a very strict sell discipline and will cut stocks quickly when structural issues arise.

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