Global Innovation team

Meet the team

The Global Innovation team is co-headed by James Dowey and Storm Uru, who are supported by Clare Pleydell-Bouverie and James O'Connor. James Dowey and Storm Uru jointly founded the Global Innovation investment process and are the lead managers of the Liontrust Global Innovation, Liontrust Global Dividend and Liontrust Global Technology funds. The four managers joined Liontrust as part of the acquisition of Neptune Investment Management in October 2019. James Dowey has 19 years of industry experience and holds degrees in economics from Edinburgh University and Cambridge University and a PhD from the London School of Economics, Storm Uru has 12 years’ industry experience and holds a degree in finance from Massey University and an MBA from Oxford University, Clare Pleydell-Bouverie has 8 years of industry experience and holds a degree in history from Oxford University and James O’Connor has 9 years of industry experience and holds a degree in psychology and economics from Harvard University and a degree in education research from Oxford university.

James Dowey

James is a lead fund manager of the Liontrust Global Innovation, Liontrust Global Dividend and Liontrust Global Technology funds. He has 19 years of industry experience, including serving as Chief Investment Officer at Neptune Investment Management. He has also researched and taught the history of innovation at the London School of Economics and advised the UK government on innovation. He holds a first-class MA in economics from Edinburgh University, an MPhil in economics from Kings College, Cambridge University and a PhD from the London School of Economics. Read more

Storm Uru

Storm is a lead fund manager of the Liontrust Global Innovation, Liontrust Global Dividend and Liontrust Global Technology funds. He has 12 years industry experience, including as a fund manager and trader and prior to Liontrust worked at Neptune Investment Management running global funds and covering the global industrials sector. He holds an BBS in finance and MBS in international business from Massey University, an MBA from Oxford University and is a CFA Charterholder. He represented New Zealand in rowing at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, winning bronze in London in 2012.
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Clare Pleydell-Bouverie

Clare is a fund manager of the Liontrust Global Innovation, Liontrust Global Dividend and Liontrust Global Technology funds. She joined the team in 2022 and is a fund manager with 8 years of industry experience, having previously worked in global equities at Neptune Investment Management, Liontrust and in private equity research across a variety of industries. Clare holds a first-class degree in history from Christ Church College, Oxford University and is a CFA Charterholder. Read more

James O'Connor

James is a fund manager of the Liontrust Global Innovation, Liontrust Global Dividend and Liontrust Global Technology funds. He joined the team in 2023 and is a fund manager with 9 years of industry experience, having previously worked in global equities at Neptune Investment Management and Liontrust. James holds an MSc in education research from Oxford University and the equivalent of a first class A.B. degree in psychology and economics from Harvard University and is a CFA Charterholder. He also currently plays for the England men’s national team in netball. Read more

Our investment process

The team seeks to generate strong returns by investing in innovative companies. They believe that innovation is the single most important driver of stock returns, underpinned by three pillars:

Innovative companies deliver superior operational performance and shareholder returns over the long run.
Innovation is much more than technology and is the key to success in every sector.
Innovation is complementary to the traditional investment styles of value and quality, and a key part of an investment portfolio in the 21st century.

Stage 1

The team sets their investible universe to only those companies that are listed, liquid (with a market capitalisation above $1billion at the time of purchase) and have the resources to innovate (based on metrics of financial strength).

Stage 2

The team manages the Global Innovation 200 watchlist, an ever-evolving list of the most innovative companies around the world across all sectors and regions. Every company that makes it onto the list has four attributes:

Innovation: Creates genuine value for customers by driving down prices or providing more for its customers' money.
Barrier: Has strong barriers to competition to capture value for shareholders.
Management: Has good management with the right incentives and ability to execute.
Cash returns on capital: Can convert its investments in innovation into cash.

Stage 3

The team identifies the price they are willing to pay for a company using a 10-year DCF model. Their hurdle to invest is an anticipated 15% annual compound return. As part of valuation the team conducts a risk assessment, covering financial, disruptive innovation and ESG factors.

Stage 4

The team manages the portfolio based on the following principles:

Stock weights are determined by each stock's current valuation upside and its contribution to the diversification of the portfolio.
Portfolio fundamentals are monitored through management meetings, company results, and announcements and industry research.
The team's typical intended holding period is three to five years. Stocks are sold for three reasons: they hit their target price, a better opportunity is identified on the watchlist or there is a breakdown in fundamentals.

To read the full process, please click the button below.

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Global Innovation

Global Dividend Fund

The Fund seeks to invest in innovative global leaders which are at the forefront of their industry and able to continually innovate to stay ahead. The managers seek to produce annual dividend growth.

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Global Innovation

Global Innovation Fund

The Fund seeks to invest in one of two types of innovative businesses: disruptive innovators. These are companies with significant growth opportunities through applying new approaches to industries.

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Global Innovation

Global Technology Fund

The Fund focuses on the five themes of digital payments, ecommerce, next gen software tools, cloud/digital infrastructure and immersive entertainment and invests in the three silos of Titans, Enablers and Adopters.

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