Receives his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Durham University
1976
The dot-com crash shakes markets as internet-based companies see their sky-high share prices crash and burn
2000
There can be few fund managers out there with a cultural hinterland as extensive and diverse as Charles Montanaro.
An anthropologist by training, he travels regularly off the beaten track with destinations stretching from the Amazon to Indonesia.
‘Once a year I put my suit away and I park my briefcase. I put on my rucksack and I pick up my machete, ‘ he told a Citywire virtual meeting last year. ‘For the last 20 years, I’ve been looking for undiscovered tribes or rediscovered tribes in jungles’.
Back in conventional clothing, Montanaro, who has weathered his fair share of market crises during his 42 years in asset management , believes that in stormy times like these, it’s good to have an experienced hand at the helm.
Montanaro set foot in the industry at Merrill Lynch, setting up Montanaro Asset Management in 1991 as a small-cap specialist. The firm now has about £5bn under management and has expanded into areas such as impact, growth and income.
With no plans to step back from the fray, Montanaro gave Citywire Amplify his thoughts on the current climate.
For Montanaro, a business’s ability to deal with uncertainty will be the key thing investors should be looking for in times of economic and market uncertainty.
‘When uncertainty is as high as it is today, what can separate success from failure is how good a CEO is at navigating uncharted waters.’
Less experienced fund managers than he must learn to cope with a world in which it is impossible to make firm plans.
‘For almost 40 years inflation was at best an afterthought for investors, but how things have changed,’ Montanaro told Amplify.
‘Inflation is now running at 40-year highs across much of the developed world and few investors will remember what it was like to invest in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was a time of constant change, which made it difficult to plan ahead. There are some striking similarities with the world we are living in today.
‘As investors, we spend no time making macroeconomic predictions or listening to those who do - most of whom will inevitably be wrong. On the other hand, we make certain that we are backing the best-managed businesses with rock-solid balance sheets and proven pricing power.’
Below, Amplify looks at Montanaro’s life in fund management, including the key launches, management decisions and people partnerships.
Joins Merrill Lynch as a private client broker in London
1980
Starts his role as vice-president at Dean Witter Reynolds
1984
Joins Drexel Burnham Lambert
1987
Becomes director of investment banking at MMG Patricof (now Apax Partners)
1990
Establishes Montanaro Asset Management to specialise in analysing and investing in quoted UK smaller companies on behalf of leading institutions (31 years in management)
1991
Launches the Montanaro Growth & Income fund (29 years in management)
1993
Launches his flagship investment trust: Montanaro UK Smaller Companies (22 years in management)
1995
Launches and starts managing Montanaro’s European Smaller Companies fund. Hands over management of the fund to George Cooke in July 2018 (18 years in management)
2000
Starts managing the Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust (MESCT), previously known as ISIS Smaller Companies Trust and managed by F&C. Since 2012, MESCT has been managed by George Cooke
2006
Global financial crisis begins
after Lehman Brothers files
for bankruptcy
2008
Starts managing Montanaro's UK Income fund (10 years in management)
2012
Launches the Montanaro Better World fund. The fund seeks to invest in companies whose products and services are deemed to make a positive impact on society and which emphasise sound ESG practices (4 years in management)
2018
More funds launched, including the Global Select fund with Andrea Shen (now managed by George Cooke), the UK Income fund with Guido Dacie-Lombardo and the European Income fund (currently managed by Alex Magni and George Cooke)
2020
Commits to at least another five years as manager of Montanaro UK Smaller Companies with no plans to retire
2022
The Covid-19 pandemic roils global financial markets before rebounding sharply on huge monetary and fiscal stimulus
2020
*Apart from those listed in the timeline below, Charles has also managed several segregated mandates on behalf of large UK and European institutional investors over the course of his career.