Montanaro UK Smaller Companies Investment Trust

The Trust aims to achieve capital growth by investing in small companies listed on the London Stock Exchange or its Alternative Investment Market (AIM). It seeks relative outperformance of its benchmark, the Numis Smaller Companies Index.

The Trust also offers a regular income.  Each quarter the Trust distributes 1% of its NAV, equivalent to a dividend yield of c.4% per annum.

Bloomberg Ticker / EPIC: MTU LN

Why UK Smaller Companies?

We believe that every investment portfolio should have some exposure to SmallCap, primarily owing to:

  • The ‘SmallCap Effect’ – the proven long-term outperformance of smaller companies versus their LargeCap peers*
  • A wealth of choice, with hundreds of quoted SmallCap companies operating in the UK
  • A lack of research, making for an inefficient market ripe with opportunity for those who invest in thorough analysis
  • Portfolio diversification – helping to lower portfolio risk  

*Source: see research from Dimson & Marsh

How we invest

Our investment process has remained unchanged for many years:

  • We invest exclusively in “Quality Growth” companies
  • ​We generate new ideas ourselves (no brokers)
  • We do thorough research ourselves, which includes detailed analysis and company site visits
  • We integrate ESG fully into company analysis 
  • We take a conservative approach to valuation

How to invest

Find out more about how to invest in MUSCIT.

Receive updates about this trust

You can sign up to receive news about this trust via the London Stock Exchange or Investegate.

Alternatively, please contact a member of our marketing team at enquiries@montanaro.co.uk

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Fund managers

Lead Fund Manager

Charles Montanaro

Charles Montanaro

Chairman / Fund Manager

Professional

Charles graduated with an honours degree in Anthropology from Durham University in 1976. He spent four years in industry before joining Merrill Lynch in 1980 as a private client broker in London. He joined Dean Witter Reynolds in 1984 and Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1987 as a Senior Vice President where, in both cases, he was their top institutional broker in the UK, joining the high-yield bond department in 1989. In 1990, Charles joined MMG Patricof (now Apax Partners) as a Director of investment banking working with UK private and public smaller companies.

In August 1991, he founded Montanaro to specialise in analysing and investing in quoted European smaller companies on behalf of leading institutions. He has since launched and managed several funds and established a strong track record. In addition, he has served on the Boards of two public smaller companies. He was appointed a Director of the Montanaro European Smaller Companies plc on 12 January 2012.

Qualifications

  • BA (Hons) Anthropology, Durham University (1976)

Personal

Charles, with his inexhaustible supply of energy, is rooting for Arsenal when he isn't motivating his own team.

A pity his enthusiastic approach doesn't work with fish.  Despite numerous attempts, he has yet to catch a trout, let alone a salmon.  Although he did catch a piranha during his first trip up the Amazon and is now known as "the white Huaorani" following his second adventure in search of undiscovered tribes in the jungles of Ecuador.

Having survived his first London marathon in a vain attempt to get fit, he spent time in the jungles of Papua with the stone-age Korowai and Kombai who had not seen a white man before.  Although practising cannibals, he was clearly too tough for their taste and survived the adventure – narrowly avoiding a native attempting to shoot his bow and arrow first and ask questions later…

In search of truly undiscovered people, he was temporarily kidnapped in Mamberamo by an unknown tribe where he found that not all natives are friendly.  Undeterred, he went hunting with the Yanomami in Venezuela and the Embera of Panama at the end of 2007 where he got eaten alive by mosquitos and nasty little nigwas and leeches.  In 2008, with his wife to be Jane, he tried his hand at climbing steep hills firstly in Kashmir and then in Bhutan where he met the new King before climbing 18,000 feet to see what altitude sickness felt like. An unexpected 40 kilometre hike in the snow (abandoned by a guide who was lost) nearly ended badly.

He survived running the Bulls of Pamplona as a pre-cursor to further exploits among indigenous tribes.  These included walking safaris with the San people in Botswana and fishing with Australian aborigines.  A return trip in 2009 to the jungles of Irian Jaya (the Korowai) saw him going native and returning with a stick through his nose - much to the disapproval of his wife (since removed – the stick that is).  In 2011, Charles explored the jungles of Sumatra with the Mentawai.

In 2013, Charles founded and largely funded Tribal Survival, a charity aimed at improving the lives of indigenous people living in remote jungles by providing access to Western doctors and medicine.  In 2014, a five-year programme was initiated with the assistance of the World Health Organisation to eradicate Lymphatic Filariasis (elephantiasis) among the Korowai.

For a change, Charles chose to spend time with indigenous people living in colder climates.  In 2017, he spent a fortnight hunting on dog sleds with a remote community of Inuit in Kulusuk (Greenland).  2018 saw him living with the Nenet, reindeer herdsmen in Yamal (North West Siberia).  In both cases, temperatures below minus 30 - 40 degrees were not uncommon and hairs in his nostrils froze.

November 2019 saw a return to the Korowai of West Papua where humidity was almost 100 degrees.  Not sure which is worse.  Once again, he returned with a stick through his nose but also an earring - his wife even less impressed.  Where to next?

Back-Up Fund Manager

Guido Dacie-Lombardo

Guido Dacie-Lombardo

Analyst / Fund Manager

Professional

Guido graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2008 with an MSci in Experimental & Theoretical Physics. He joined Rothschild in London where he advised UK and European clients on mergers and acquisitions, as well as a range of general corporate finance issues.

After six years with Rothschild, Guido joined Montanaro in 2015 as an analyst covering the Software, IT Services and Electronic Equipment sectors. He is the lead manager of both the Montanaro UK Income Fund and the Montanaro Global Innovation Fund.

Guido joined Montanaro in 2015.

Qualifications

  • MSci in Experimental & Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge (2008)
  • Bilingual in English and Italian
  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

Personal

In his spare time, Guido relaxes by playing the piano, trying to compose music or cooking a new dish. If he’s feeling more energetic he can be found on the golf course or the ski slopes, and he enjoys playing snooker, squash and football. Guido also loves packing his weekend bag to explore the English countryside or a European city, particularly when combined with tasty local food. When he has the time for longer breaks, he explores further afield – most recently a three-week trip to Japan to experience the beautiful autumnal foliage (and of course the wonderfully varied and delicious food!).

The Board

Arthur Copple

Chairman of the Board

Catriona Hoare

Director

Barbara Powley

Chair of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee

Yuuichiro Nakajima

Director

Arthur Copple

Chairman of the Board

Arthur Copple was appointed a Director on 1 March 2017. He has specialised in the investment company sector for over 30 years.

He was a partner at Kitcat & Aitken, an executive director of Smith New Court PLC and a managing director of Merrill Lynch.

He is also chairman of Temple Bar Investment Trust plc and Vice-Chair of the University of Brighton Academies Trust.

Catriona Hoare

Director

Catriona Hoare was appointed a Director on 19 November 2019. She has specialised in the investment sector for 13 years, beginning her career at Newton Investment Management where she managed a number of portfolios and private family unit trusts.

She became an investment partner at Veritas in 2013 where she is responsible for managing client portfolios and researching companies for potential investment. Catriona is a CFA® Charterholder, a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and was named one of PAM’s Top 40 Under 40 during 2017.

Barbara Powley

Chair of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee

Barbara Powley was appointed a Director on 18 November 2020. She is currently a non-executive director of M&G Credit Income Investment Trust plc. She is a chartered accountant with over 30 years’ experience in the investment trust industry. Prior to her retirement in March 2018, she was a director in BlackRock’s closed end funds team from 2005 with responsibility for the oversight and administration of BlackRock’s stable of investment trusts. From 1996 to 2005 she had a similar role at Fidelity.

Yuuichiro Nakajima

Director

Yuuichiro Nakajima joined the Board as a Director on 1st January, 2024. He has been a corporate financier for over 35 years, in the last 20 years specialising in advising clients on Japan-related cross-border M&A transactions at his own firm, Crimson Phoenix. A Japanese national, Yuuichiro has spent close to half his life in the UK. As he travels to Japan regularly, he is well versed in business, corporate governance and investment practices in both countries. 

Yuuichiro was a Director of J.P.Morgan Japan Small Cap Growth and Income plc until July 2023.

Principal advisers

Alternative Investment Fund Manager and Investment Manager

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd.
53 Threadneedle Street
London
EC2R 8AR
Tel: 020 7448 8600

Company Secretary

Juniper Partners Limited
28 Walker St
Edinburgh
EH3 7HR
Tel: 0131 378 0500
Email: cosec@junipartners.com

Registrar

Link Group
10th Floor
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds
LS1 4DL
Tel: 0871 664 0300

Administrator

Juniper Partners Limited
28 Walker St
Edinburgh
EH3 7HR
Tel: 0131 378 0500

Depositary

BNY Mellon Trust & Depositary (UK) Limited
BNY Mellon Centre
160 Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4LA

Custodian

Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV
London Branch
One Canada Square
London
E14 5AL

Banker

ING Bank N.V.
London Branch
60 London Wall
London
EC2M 5TQ

Broker

Cenkos Securities
6-8 Tokenhouse Yard
London
EC2R 7AS

Registered Office

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd.
53 Threadneedle Street
London
EC2R 8AR
Tel: 020 7448 8600

Our trusts

Better World Fund

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