Free Trial

Global Investor Magazine Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher

Finding the future in thematic investing

05 January 2012


Opinion may be divided on whether thematic investing is a new concept, but there is little doubt that it will exercise the minds of investors for the foreseeable future. Paul Golden reports

Read more: Thematic investing Mark Hoskin Holden & Partners Cerulli Associates Barbara Wall Clare Brook WHEB Asset Management Henk Grootveld Robeco

There are various definitions of thematic investment. Mark Hoskin, managing partner at London-based financial planners Holden & Partners says it is about finding companies responding to a particular human need, understanding how this need is being serviced from factory to consumer and investing in companies which are well positioned to take advantage of these changing market conditions.

When the United Nations announced at the end of October that the population of the world had reached seven billion and pointed out that the figure had increased from six billion in just 13 years and was expected to hit nine billion as early as 2043, the announcement was accompanied by calls for world leaders to meet the challenges of population growth, such as access to clean water and increased demand for food.

Such calls could easily have been echoed by investment managers, many of whom have already latched onto funds focused on climate...