Archive

Smithson Investment Trust (SSON) offers investors high-conviction exposure to a range of high-quality global equities at the small to mid-cap end of the market cap spectrum.

In an interview with interactive investor, Smithson fund manager Simon Barnard reflects on performance five years after the trust's IPO, and explains why he is ‘excited’ about how cheap valuations are looking.

Discover the biggest success stories in the portfolio and where they see the best opportunities now.

As Investment Manager at Smithson Investment Trust, a growth-focused fund run by the team behind Fundsmith Equity, Simon Barnard is a key player in companies that have “already won”. Dave Baxter and Barnard discuss various strategies that the trust has used since its inception, including bottom-up techniques and a three-step process of acquisition.

Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, is joined in this week’s edition of the Money Makers Weekly Investment Trust podcast by Simon Barnard, manager of the Smithson Investment Trust.

In this podcast, recorded last month before the mini-Budget, fund manager Simon Barnard tells Gavin Lumsden how he is keeping faith with his stock picks, including Fevertree (FEVR), which has struggled with shipping its premium tonics to the US.

After it raised record-breaking sums from investors when it floated in 2018, the Smithson Investment Trust has had a torrid 2022 so far. The £2.5bn fund, which invests in global small and medium-sized companies, has struggled over the past 12 months, with its assets falling in value by 19pc. This compares with a 20pc drop from rivals and a 7pc loss by its sister fund Fundsmith Equity, which is managed by renowned investor Terry Smith and focuses on much larger companies.

Simon Barnard discusses Smithson and his view of recent financial market turbulence at length with Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook and the Money Makers newsletter (www.money-makers.co).

The trust has been a strong performer and is sticking to a tried and tested strategy.

The Times' Tempus column discusses Smithson Investment Trust.

It follows the same process as the popular Fundsmith Equity Fund but invests in different stocks.

A fast-food chain that specialises in chicken wings and a rapidly growing pest-control business are the latest stocks to form part of the giant investment trust overseen by the star fund manager Terry Smith.

Questor investment trust bargain: Smithson, the Fundsmith for smaller stocks, proved itself during the pandemic last year The pandemic has provided Smithson, the global investment trust for smaller and medium-sized companies from the Fundsmith stable, with its first major test. And so far it has done exactly what it set out to do: it has delivered steady returns despite the sharp market sell-off in March.

Smithson Investment Trust: two favourite stocks

Daily Mail - The Smithson Investment Trust: Terry Smith's listed fund focuses on small and mid-sized companies around the world including Fevertree. Read the Daily Mail's article on the Smithson Investment Trust.

Global smaller companies investment trust Smithson (SSON) smashed its benchmark in the first half of this year, outperforming  by a wide margin despite market turmoil due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Smithson Investment Trust manager Simon Barnard says he felt “comfortable buying heavily” in the first six months of the year during which he added two names to the portfolio and the trust handsomely outperformed its benchmark.

Portfolio manager Simon Barnard tells us how he is piloting Smithson – the trust the star manager, Terry Smith, helped fund – through choppy waters.

Fundsmith investment trust delivers less than half the 23% falls seen in the MSCI index. The Smithson Investment Trust has revealed the stocks in its portfolio that have buoyed performance during the coronavirus sell-off as part of a remote presentation given during its first AGM.

The Smithson Investment Trust has held up better than many other equity funds because of its quality bias and focus on strong balance sheets.