Landseer Global Artificial Intelligence I GBP Bs Acc
Why is this fund on our radar?
Landseer Global Artificial Intelligence is a rare thematic fund, laser-focussed on one idea: artificial intelligence (AI) is creating new earnings streams and will become the dominant driver of returns for companies in multiple fields. It might suit investors who believe strongly this theme will lead to the market giants of tomorrow and disrupt industries in favour of those companies able to harness AI the best. The fund made it onto our list because it had the best scores for a fund with a strong bias to the growth style. Manager Chris looks for companies which he thinks will have to develop a whole new business model in the light of AI – and one which will be a success, and looks all across the market, not just in the technology sector. The fund was ahead of the curve in adopting this mandate in 2017, long before the unveiling of ChatGPT in 2022 and the potential of AI was widely recognised. Chris uses an AI system to help him identify ideas, and this system, called ‘Orbit’, has the ability to improve and update itself, which could mean it becomes better over time as AI processes and techniques evolve. It’s a bold way to invest in a specific theme with obvious potential.
Skip to Our VerdictPerformance
The Landseer Global Artificial Intelligence Fund has delivered strong performance relative to global equities during periods of AI-driven market enthusiasm. From June 2020 to June 2021, the fund returned 31.3%, comfortably outperforming the IA Global sector, which gained 25.9%. This outperformance was repeated in both the 2022–23 and 2023–24 periods, with the fund posting returns of 24.4% and 30.8% respectively, compared to 10.8% and 14.9% for the benchmark. The only notable period of underperformance came between June 2021 and June 2022, when the fund fell 19.77%, a steeper decline than the 8.87% drop in global equities. This illustrates the risk of a more concentrated sector and thematic approach: during this period, technology stocks underperformed as higher interest rates hit them hard, with the fund’s high allocation to this sector proving a headwind. Over 2024 and 2025, performance has been closer to that of the global equity index as growth in AI stocks moderated. The fund has tended to be more volatile than global equity indices too.
That said, the alpha generated – adding value beyond the broader market – looking back over a three year period can be attributed to that concentrated thematic approach. Over five years, returns have been more or less in line with those of global equities, as the chart below shows. However, the fund has departed significantly to the downside and the upside at times. Artificial intelligence stocks have seen their valuations rise to very high levels and subside at various points. Valuation is always important to returns, but if the companies can sustainably deliver earnings growth much higher than the market then the theme could outperform a passive investment over the long run.
Five-year performance
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results
Portfolio
The fund invests in companies which the managers believe have economic futures entirely dependent on artificial intelligence systems. This is not a technology fund – the manager, Chris Rose invests wherever these companies are to be found, including areas not often associated with technological advancements such as real estate. Typically, technology stocks make up 40-60% of the portfolio. Other areas Chris finds investments include consumer-facing companies like Amazon or Netflix or robotics companies like Japanese firm Keyence. The US is typically the highest country position, but Chris will invest wherever he finds ideas, including China. Chris uses a bespoke artificial intelligence model to do the first layer of research to identify companies for further investigation. The portfolio typically holds around 35 stocks, allowing for focused bets on high-conviction companies.
Chris can invest in small and mid-caps, excluding those beneath £250m in market cap, but in practice the fund has had high exposure to the largest companies in the world, which means small caps don’t play a major role in performance. Growth is clearly a key focus of stock-selection, but Chris pays attention to valuation and quality metrics too. He looks at five factors to understand the AI exposure of companies: the use of algorithms, sensing, AI application, high-powered computing, and data.
sector exposure
Our Verdict
We think the fund is an interesting option for those looking to invest in one of the key technological themes of the moment. Artificial intelligence promises to deliver new products and services across a broad range of industries, and shows remarkable potential. That said, it is still at an early stage and key developments like agentic AI are yet to emerge and be proven. While we do think it will have revolutionary impact on some industries, a lot remains to be determined and it may take longer than expected for these impacts to hit companies’ profits. A broader technology fund would be more likely to capture any other additional drivers of technology stocks’ earnings, but wouldn’t offer the same potential if AI is indeed the major driver of company profits that Chris believes.
Key Risks
- Thematic focus could lead to volatility
- Artificial intelligence may not lead to earnings growth in the key companies
- Theme brings big US and US dollar exposure, both of which may underperform
