Lindsell Train vs. Fundsmith vs. Scottish Mortgage

aroominyork

MPN wrote: »

Have you considered a global IT such as Bankers etc?

I have, but I do not understand them well enough to make an informed decision between SMT, Witan, Monks, Bankers etc. If I keep researching I might change my view.

MPN

aroominyork wrote: »

I have, but I do not understand them well enough to make an informed decision between SMT, Witan, Monks, Bankers etc. If I keep researching I might change my view.

I do like Global IT's such as WTAN, HINT & BNKR because they seem quite diverse in the various regions/sectors they invest in compared to say FS or LT, therefore, I believe IT's are a different option.

You also mentioned SMT and MNKS but these are more high risk IT's with a lot of high tech holdings, although MNKS less so, because they invest more broadly into a lot more companies whereas SMT is a far more concentrated portfolio.

schiff

dividendhero wrote: »

One thing I do like about Terry Smith is his style, he's been no nonsense and saying as it is for decades. His regular updates are educating and entertaining - Can't say that of many in this business!

I too am a huge fan of Fundsmith, having been directed there by some kind person on here 18 months ago. Read his methods and was totally convinced as I like simplicity. I put fairly equal amounts in February, April and July of 2016 into the T Class Accums and my investment is today 40% up on cost.

I know I've benefited from Brexit, I know it's a very short time-span and I know sometimes good things do come to an end but I have faith, even though I can still hardly believe it! Nothing else I've ever invested in has come near.

MPN

schiff wrote: »

I too am a huge fan of Fundsmith, having been directed there by some kind person on here 18 months ago. Read his methods and was totally convinced as I like simplicity. I put fairly equal amounts in February, April and July of 2016 into the T Class Accums and my investment is today 40% up on cost.

I know I've benefited from Brexit, I know it's a very short time-span and I know sometimes good things do come to an end but I have faith, even though I can still hardly believe it! Nothing else I've ever invested in has come near.

Well we all have to wait and see whether Mr Smith is or wrong!

aroominyork

schiff wrote: »

I know I've benefited from Brexit

Fundsmith is over 60% USA and the dollar hasn't strengthened as much against Sterling as say the Euro. Smith's picking is more the factor, it seems to me.

StellaN

aroominyork wrote: »

Fundsmith is over 60% USA and the dollar hasn't strengthened as much against Sterling as say the Euro. Smith's picking is more the factor, it seems to me.

Have Faith - I'm staying with Fundsmith.

aroominyork

StellaN wrote: »

Have Faith - I'm staying with Fundsmith.

I'll also keep it at the heart of my portfolio together with some Lindsell Train UK for less forex exposure (though I know LT's earnings are largely non-Sterling).

I also want a little global technology. SMT is probably a bit too 'pure' for me so I am looking at Monks which is 23% technology. What surprises me is that Monks is often mentioned on this site yet never/rarely do you see mention of Baillie Gifford Global Alpha Growth. The BG fund has the same managers and, when they took over Monks in 2015, they turned Monks into a near replica of the Alpha Growth fund. The top nine holdings are the same (slightly different weightings) so the only real difference is gearing and pricing (ie NAV-based for the Alpha OEIC). In terms of performance over the last two years Alpha has gone up 64.38% and Monks 63.83%.

So why doesn't Alpha - an OEIC with only £896m invested - get mentioned? Is it because ITs are seen as sexier?

Alice_Holt

aroominyork wrote: »

So why doesn't Alpha - an OEIC with only £896m invested - get mentioned? Is it because ITs are seen as sexier?

Interesting.

Monks is trading at a slight discount. But, it has been 15% 2/3 yrs back and c.10% a year or so previously.
How do OCF's compare? Monks is around 0.6% pa

I have a Friends Life auto-enrollment scheme currently, and have opted for the FL Baillie Gifford International Pn which may be similar to Alpha (but without UK exposure).

aroominyork

Alice_Holt wrote: »

Monks is trading at a slight discount. But, it has been 15% 2/3 yrs back and c.10% a year or so previously.
How do OCF's compare? Monks is around 0.6% pa.

Monks OCF is 0.59%. Alpha Growth is 0.68%. Re premium/discount, Monks was not performing well up to 2015 hence the change of manager, subsequent shake-up of holdings and disappearance of the discount. Monks has a slightly higher FE (116 to 111), I assume because of gearing risk.

PS Just come across this from trustintelligence.co.uk: "Its open-ended stablemate, Baillie Gifford Global Alpha, is focused on companies further up the market cap scale and cannot, because it must meet redemptions, invest in the less liquid holdings which Monks is able to target." And from the Telegraph: "One distinction between the two is the size of companies each will hold. Monks will take positions in some smaller companies where it’s closed-ended structure allows it to better cope with less liquidity." (My apologies on their behalf for the errant apostrophe.)