Rathbone Global Opportunities: August 2026 fund update

• James Thomson has managed this fund since 2003 and established a clear and effective investment process

• He’s supported by deputy manager Sammy Dow and uses research from external company analysts

• The fund has struggled recently, but the long-term track record remains strong

• This fund is on our Wealth Shortlist of funds chosen by our analysts for their long-term performance potential

How it fits in a portfolio

Rathbone Global Opportunities aims to grow your investment over the long term by investing in companies from around the globe. The managers focus mainly on developed markets like the US, Europe, and the UK. Larger companies make up most of the fund, but the managers have flexibility to also invest in some higher-risk smaller companies. The fund’s focus on growth means that it could be a useful addition to an adventurous portfolio. It could also complement funds investing in emerging markets or unloved value companies.

Manager

James Thomson has been lead manager of the fund since November 2003, though his involvement dates back to its launch in 2001. Unlike many in the industry, he has spent his entire fund management career working on this one fund. It receives his full attention, and we believe that it fully reflects his investment philosophy. Over time, he has navigated the fund through a range of market conditions, including the 2008 global financial crisis. Like many, the fund didn’t come out unscathed, but we think that Thomson came away from the experience a better manager. He learnt valuable lessons, and his approach has evolved as a result.

Thomson is supported by deputy manager Sammy Dow, who joined Rathbones from JP Morgan Cazenove in July 2014. Up until that point, his experience was primarily in equity sales, but he has taken well to life as a fund manager and has a great mentor in Thomson.

They have access to internal analysts at Rathbones but prefer to use a combination of both in-house and external research. Thomson’s performance to date suggests that it works to good effect. We believe that he’s a skilled stock picker with a good long-term track record in the IA Global sector, although past performance isn’t a guide to the future.

Process

Thomson and Dow look to invest in companies that they consider to be under the radar or that have been shunned by other investors but still have long-term growth potential. They may hold onto these companies as they grow or become recognised by more investors, so the fund can benefit from the potential for longer-term success. Rather than using extensive quantitative tools, the managers use a combination of their experience and insight from analysts, both internal and external, to generate ideas. This helps build a comprehensive view of the company through a range of lenses.

Detailed company analysis is used to assess whether they have the ingredients for what Thomson calls ‘the secret sauce’ – a nod to his American heritage. These companies should be easy to understand with hard-to-replicate advantages and the ability to gain more customers over time. The managers also favour those with unblemished pasts, rather than companies that are waiting for a catalyst to recover. They’ve tended to avoid companies with lots of debt or whose fate is tied to the health of the wider economy, such as commodity producers. Meetings with company management also play a big role, and they prefer visionary and flexible management teams that under promise and overdeliver.

Companies in the US continue to make up most of the fund. Currently, 71% of the fund invests here. Sector-wise, technology, industrials, and consumer discretionary companies are the largest portions, with each sector just above 20% of the fund.

There have been a number of changes to the fund in the past 12 months, with Thomson noting it has been the most active year of his career. This was due to concentrated market conditions presenting an unusually high number of opportunities. New investments include cyber-security business CrowdStrike and chip developer ARM, both of which could benefit from the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. Thomson also invested in industrials companies Caterpillar and Sandvik.

A number of investments were also sold from the fund, including software firm Intuit, which has been affected by concerns that AI might disrupt its business model. Luxury goods company Hermes was sold because of increased competition in the market resulting in a reduction in future growth potential.

Although the fund can invest in higher-risk emerging markets, it doesn’t do so often. The fund doesn’t invest in any companies based in emerging markets at the moment, though given their global nature, some companies that the fund invests in make some of their profits from emerging economies.

Culture

We have a positive view of Rathbones as a parent company. Having been founded in 1742, it has plenty of history and tradition behind it. But the company is also moving with the times, with an increased focus on responsible investment. Importantly for the fund, the company allows Thomson the freedom to run it his way without imposing any ‘house views’ on him, although of course challenge and risk management is provided.

The managers are a tight-knit duo, which we believe plays to their strengths, and operate in an environment where challenge and debate are encouraged. They’re incentivised to focus on the longer rather than short-term performance of the fund. This aligns interests with long-term investors, which we view as a good thing.

ESG integration

At a firm level, Rathbones recognises that governance and other non-financial risks can be material factors when analysing investment risk and returns. Rathbones fund managers have been encouraged to integrate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) into their investment processes in recent years, but we think that the quality of ESG integration varies from fund to fund.

That said, Rathbones does have a range of responsible products, where ESG issues are considered in a more structured way. The responsible funds benefit from the input of Rathbone Greenbank, a team with more than two decades’ experience delivering specialist exclusions-based and sustainable investment portfolios.

For Rathbones, the primary purpose of engagement is to protect and enhance the value of its investments, as well as helping to address systemic risks like climate change. Engagement progress is reported in the firm’s annual Responsible Investment report, as is a summary of voting activity. There’s also a ‘Responsible Investment Insights’ page on the firm’s website, home to a range of thought leadership articles.

Although this fund isn’t designated a ‘sustainable’ fund, the managers integrate ESG into their process and believe that any related issues can present a long-term risk to a company.

Cost

The fund usually has an annual ongoing charge of 0.79%, but with a 0.24% saving it’s available to HL clients for 0.55%. This is one of the lowest charges among actively managed global funds, and we think that it represents good value for Thomson’s best ideas.

The HL platform fee of up to 0.35% per year also applies, apart from in the Junior ISA, where there is no platform fee.

Performance

The fund has performed well since Thomson became manager in November 2003. During this time, it has returned 1246.59%*, compared to 649.30% for the average fund in the IA Global sector. Although the manager’s growth style has contributed to its performance, our analysis suggests that his stock selection has been the primary driver of returns. As always, past performance isn’t a guide to future returns and there will be times that the fund doesn’t perform as well.

The fund has tended to grow more quickly than the global stock market when it’s rising, because of a focus on companies with strong growth potential. It has also held up slightly better when markets fall as the manager invests in some companies with more defensive qualities. The fund won’t necessarily perform this way all the time, though – for example, in 2022 the fund fell further than the market partly because the growth-focused investment style fell out of favour with investors.

Performance has been weaker more recently. In the 12 months to the end of July 2026, the fund fell 2.28%. This lagged both the global market and peers, with the average fund in the sector returning 14.48%.

Some of the fund’s investments in technology companies detracted. Although excitement over artificial intelligence (AI) led to hardware providers performing well in the past year, software businesses haven’t performed as well. This is an area that the fund tends to invest in more. Companies like Intuit, Broadridge, and ServiceNow all came under pressure from concerns that deployment of AI solutions would affect their business models. Healthcare companies EssilorLuxottica and Boston Scientific also detracted from performance.

Companies that performed well for the fund include Alphabet (parent company of Google) and luxury goods business Richemont. Consumer discretionary companies TJX in the US and Next in the UK also contributed to performance.

We expect the fund to deliver positive results for long-term investors. That said, the fund can be more volatile than others in the Global sector and is less likely to perform well when growth investing is out of favour or while inflation is rising.