When Richard Clode stepped into his new role as co-manager of the Bankers Investment Trust in September last year, it marked both a return to his roots and the start of an exciting new chapter. Having begun his career in an investment trust focused on technology and long-term structural trends, Richard has spent more than 20 years analysing how businesses grow, adapt and create value – experience he now brings to Bankers as the trust’s new co-manager and a lead on its US portfolio.
Beyond the chance to work with such a strong team, I’m particularly excited about helping investors benefit from some of the powerful trends shaping the global economy. With experts on the ground in each region, we can draw on deep local insight to identify the companies that show real promise – businesses with resilient models, strong cash-flow potential and the ability to grow dividends sustainably. By focusing on the 100 best stock ideas worldwide, we aim to deliver consistent results for shareholders, even as market conditions evolve.
Today, technology is no longer a single sector. It’s a foundational driver of transformation across every industry. Whether it’s retailers using data analytics, automakers developing electric platforms, or banks deploying AI, technology is the common thread driving progress. We’re at the start of what I think will be a multi-decade transformation led by advances in AI and automation. These shifts will touch every part of our lives and create entirely new industries. My job, as a global fund manager, is to evaluate this impact across sectors and find the companies best positioned to turn that innovation into profits and cash flows.
Technology investing also teaches you patience and discipline. It’s not just about spotting exciting ideas; it’s about understanding when those ideas are ready to translate into meaningful earnings. There are always new technologies being talked about, but not all of them will become commercially relevant in the near term. My experience has been about identifying when a technology is crossing that line – when it’s moving from concept to cash generation. For a trust like Bankers, where long-term income growth matters, that timing is crucial.
It also helps to have a sense of perspective. The companies that seem expensive today can actually turn out to be good value if their earnings grow faster than expected. I often say that price-to-earnings ratios are an opinion, not a fact. In growth areas, the market frequently underestimates how much a business can earn once a new technology takes off.
That pace of change is exactly why it’s valuable to have both local expertise and a global perspective – which is something Bankers does very well.
My focus is on ensuring that the US portfolio reflects the most compelling long-term trends, but also that these insights are shared across the trust. Many of these developments – whether AI, changes in supply chains, or the push towards energy efficiency – will play out differently in each region. By working more closely together across markets, we can identify common opportunities and express them in a more unified way within the portfolio.
Ultimately, it’s a balance of smart stock picking and an understanding of the broader structural forces shaping the world economy.
Probably that markets can often underestimate the power of compounding growth. Over the years, I’ve seen many cases where people avoid innovative businesses because they appear ‘too expensive’, only to find that earnings grow far faster than expected.
The key is to stay focused on fundamentals – profits, cash flows, and the sustainability of those returns. If you can find companies that keep surprising on those fronts, and you’re patient enough to let that story unfold, time tends to work in your favour.
