Fund Manager Dinner with Laurence Hulse & Andy Brough

Free


Members Only

Join us for dinner with fund managers Andy Brough of Schroders & Laurence Hulse of Dowgate, and get a unique opportunity to hear from them directly about their insights into what they look for when making investment decisions. A discussion will follow where you will have the opportunity to ask questions in a Chatham House rule environment.

How it works: Both Fund Managers will provide insight into what they look for when making investment decisions and what companies should be focusing on to attract more investment. A Q&A discussion will then follow where company directors have the opportunity to ask questions in a Chatham House rule environment.

This event is for Board Directors of Quoted Companies.

Event Details

Date: 26 November, 2024

Start time: 18:00 GMT

End time: 21:00 GMT

Venue: City of London

SKU: FMD261124 Category:

Join us from 6.00pm for a pre dinner drink and networking, followed by dinner at 6.30pm. Hear from Laurence & Andy throughout dinner with an opportunity for Q&A . The evening will conclude by 9pm.

 

Laurence Hulse 

Laurence joined Dowgate, in September 2022 as an Investment Director in order to create and then IPO an investment company; Onward Opportunities Ltd (ONWD LN). Laurence started his career at Gresham House in 2015, around the time of its inception, and worked on a number of outperforming equity products as part of a small team during that time. At the time of his departure from Gresham House, he had co-managed or deputised on a number of equity funds; namely Gresham House Strategic plc (now called Rockwood Strategic plc), Strategic Public Equity Fund LP and Gresham House Smaller Companies Fund. He was awarded both AAA and AA-ratings by Citywire during this time and two of these co-managed funds achieved FE ‘5-crown’ ratings while he was part of the team working on them. During his tenure, the company grew from a handful of employees and less than £50m assets to over 200 employees and in excess of £7.0bn of assets.

Laurence joined Dowgate to pursue a long-held ambition to build and manage an investment vehicle tailored for HNWIs & Family Offices focused on special situations in the UK, which perfectly aligns with the Dowgate ethos. The Onward Opportunities fund was the manifestation of this and has made a strong start as one of the top performing UK Investment Companies investing in small caps and recently won IPO of the Year.

As an investor, Laurence strongly believes in creating value through change; whether that be strategic, operational or personnel within a business – particularly in small and micro-cap companies where the impacts of these changes tend to be most tangible. He prides himself on working actively with the Boards and Exec teams of investments to drive shareholder value through the investment cycle. He holds a truly active approach to investment management by applying private equity techniques to publicly listed companies. His enthusiasm and drive have allowed him to successfully garner a track record of outperformance and close industry network throughout his career in the City.

A career highlight for Laurence was when he was nominated for the rising star of investment companies award in 2021 and winning the IPO of the Year award in 2024 for his successful launch of Onward Opportunities, and Investment Company he founded in 2023. His biggest achievement away from work was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for charity at the age of 16. In addition to his duties as Investment Director, Laurence loves cycling, driving, and vintage cars.

About Onward Opportunities (25m)

Onward Opportunities is a publicly listed investment company investing in UK Smaller Companies and has been one of the top performing UK investment funds since its launch. The company is led by its founder Laurence Hulse; an award-winning fund manager with ten years’ experience in the strategy. Laurence is supported by a wider investment team and committee that have a combined experience of c.160 years and a history of value creation for clients. As a team, we are convinced that employing an active investment approach for identifying investment opportunities and driving those investments to an outcome can result in higher returns by capitalising on market inefficiencies. We believe in investing in businesses, strategies, and catalysts that we can see and understand. This we think gives us the best opportunity to value a company today and to assess its intrinsic value tomorrow. We then aim to purchase it at a discount to both of those values. Therefore, Investee Companies will typically have certain of the following characteristics:

  • balance sheet asset backing;
  • a competitive advantage and/or strong management track record;
  • attractive cash flow potential;
  • visibility of earnings/future earnings improvement;
  • potential for liquidity and/or exit in line with the Company’s targeted hold period;
  • scope for an active shareholder to trigger value creation; and/or
  • foreseeable events and catalysts to unlock intrinsic value.

Andy Brough 

An Economics graduate from Manchester and a fund manager with more than 35 years’ investment experience behind him, Andy Brough leads UK small and mid-cap equity investing at Schroders. Brough runs unit trusts, including the Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund he launched in 1999 and the Schroder UK Smaller Companies Fund. He also manages specialist institutional mandates. Brough argues that mid-caps have greater potential for continued growth than larger companies, and he will often invest in companies with a unique product or service for which demand is strong. Conversely, he is disciplined in selling a stock if there are signs that increased competition will mean that company’s unique advantage has been lost. He adopts a bottom-up investment style targeting firms with quality management and effective business models. Brough is a Chartered Accountant and has been with Schroders since 1987.

We are Schroders

As a global investment manager, we help institutions, intermediaries and individuals meet their goals, fulfil their ambitions, and prepare for the future. But as the world changes, so do our clients’ needs. That’s why we have a long history of adapting to suit the times and keeping our focus on what matters most to our clients. Our corporate purpose is to invest actively and responsibly to create better futures for our clients. Doing this takes experience and expertise. We bring together people and data to spot the trends that will shape the future. This provides a unique perspective which allows us to always invest with conviction. We are responsible for £760.4bn billion* of assets for our clients who trust us to deliver sustainable returns. We remain determined to build future prosperity for them, and for all of society. Today, we have over 6,200 people across 38 locations across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East who focus on doing just this. We are a global business which is managed locally. This allows us to always keep our clients’ needs at the heart of everything we do. For over 200 years and more than seven generations we’ve grown and developed our expertise in tandem with our clients’ needs and interests.

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