Mikhail Zverev

Asset management firm Amati is launching the TB Amati Strategic Innovation Fund.

The fund will launch on 23 May, after an initial offer period commencing on 9 May.

Focussing on firms that are bringing innovative and disruptive business models to the market, the fund will have a high conviction portfolio of 30 to 50 holdings, which the firm says will represent pioneers, enablers, and adopters of innovation.

The fund will be managed by Mikhail Zverev, Graeme Bencke and Dr Gareth Blades.

Mr Zverev worked alongside Amati chief executive, Dr Paul Jourdan, at First State Investments, from 2002 to 2007, and has managed global equity teams and funds at both Standard Life Investments and Aviva Investors. He joined Amati in February 2022.

Mr Bencke started out with F&C Asset Management in 1997, and managed the global equity team and funds at PineBridge Investments. He joined Amati this month.

Most recently, he worked at Torvius Capital, an advisory and consulting firm, advising early stage, start-up businesses in emerging technology sectors on strategy, development, and investor relations.

Meanwhile, Dr Blades joined Amati in 2019, with broad expertise across healthcare, complemented by his academic work across biochemistry, nanotechnology, and neuroscience.

Mr Zverev commented: “The innovation opportunity is granular, company specific, and best discovered from the bottom up.

“The UK is renowned as a global centre of excellence in the areas most closely associated with innovation – healthcare, technology, materials science, and specialist industrials amongst them. It ranks as a global leader on numerous innovation metrics.”

Dr Paul Jourdan, founder and chief executive of Amati added: “Innovation can be a significant differentiator to the success of any business, and it has been frequently under-valued by investors.

“I believe our approach will enable us to capture this opportunity for our clients in the global equity asset class, consistent with our desire to construct class-leading investment products which remain fit for purpose and that investors can hold over the longer term.”

Edinburgh based Amati is a specialist asset management boutique, with a predominant focus on UK small and mid-cap companies and £1.2 billion under management, as of 31 March 2022. Amati also manages the TB Amati UK Smaller Companies fund.