In The HotSeat Special: Is defence the best form of attack?

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Speakers

Alan Bartlett | Global Opportunities Trust

Alan is one of the three-person portfolio management team for Goodhart’s Real Return strategy. He is a Partner and Board member of Goodhart Partners LLP, with responsibility for oversight of the investment function.

Alan has a diverse background. The earlier part of his career focused on manager selection and running multi-manager funds. Alan started in 1995 as an investment consultant and became Head of Manager Research at two of the largest consulting businesses in the UK (Hymans Robertson and Aon) before joining a startup multi-manager firm as Director of Research in 2001. In 2005 he approached the asset management division of WestLB bank with a plan to develop a highly investment-oriented multi-manager fund range. These funds had a thematic approach focusing on niche investment opportunities that were structurally advantaged.

Alan co-founded Goodhart Partners in 2009. Over the next 10 years at Goodhart he focused on creating and supporting boutique investment managers directly. He began by launching a Japanese equity business focused on deep value smaller companies. Goodhart then acquired a minority interest in a boutique manager that focuses on discounted assets – Asset Value Investors – and managed the transition of the investment team to a new generation. The businesses that Goodhart worked with had very different approaches, but they were/are all fundamental, longer term, and seeking to exploit specific structural investment opportunities. 

In 2019 Alan joined Templeton Global Equity Group as CIO, overseeing c$70bn of global equity mandates. Alan left Templeton in 2023 and returned to Goodhart with a vision to build an “agile” global equity boutique.

Alan’s approach to investing is thematic. He is a long-term, structural thinker.  As a stock picker Alan is willing to pay more for higher growth or better quality but his “burden of proof” for those types of opportunity is substantial and in practice most of his highest conviction ideas qualify as “value”. At the portfolio level he is more eclectic and with a strong understanding of portfolio structure, risk, and investment decision-making.

Alan has an MSc in Investment Analysis and a BA (Hons) in Economic Policy, both from the University of Stirling, Scotland.

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Nick Britton | The Association of Investment Companies

Nick is in charge of research projects and content at the AIC. He works closely with journalists, financial advisers, wealth managers and investors, as well as overseeing the AIC’s education and training programme to promote the benefits of investment companies. Nick is a CFA charterholder, holds the Investment Management Certificate and is a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI).

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Jeremy Mckeown | The Investment Company

Jeremy joined Dowgate Wealth in November 2020 where he is the market strategist. He has worked in the City for over 4 decades in both fund management and stockbroking. Originally from Bedford, Jeremy obtained a degree in business administration and economics from Georgia State University Atlanta.

Jeremy began his career at South Yorkshire Pension Authority in 1982. After further positions at Abbey Life and British Gas Pension Fund, and a spell at Midland Bank Group Treasury he became an institutional stockbroker at Charterhouse Securities where he stayed for 13 years. He subsequently worked at Merrill Lynch, Investec, Espirito Santo, Liberum and RBC Capital Markets as a director and team leader.

Jeremy remains a keen student of financial markets and investing ideas and writes articles for Money Week and Dowgate’s Curious Investor newsletter. He is the author of a publication for Substack and hosts an investment podcast.

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