Over 25 years, the Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund has navigated multiple waves of market volatility while delivering strong long-term returns. Against the current backdrop, fund manager James Thomson believes recent market shifts are creating a broader set of opportunities for active investors.
Since launch in May 2001, the fund has returned 893%, compared with 423% for the IA Global sector average – an outperformance of 470% on a total return basis against peers.
“The process behind this track record is straightforward and grounded in fundamental analysis. The core philosophy has remained consistent throughout my time managing the fund, with one important evolution: adding a more defensive, recession-resilient element to the portfolio, following the global financial crisis.”
James Thomson, manager of the Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund
The fund has also outperformed the IA Global sector average in 20 of the past 24 full calendar years. Thomson says today’s environment – shaped by narrow market leadership, passive flows and sharp bouts of volatility – is creating fertile ground for disciplined, long-term stock-picking.
Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund vs IA Global Sector average
The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and you may not get back your original investment. Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance.
Thomson says:
“While headline indices have been strong, it’s been a much tougher environment for diversified active managers. A handful of very large companies are driving returns, which makes markets look healthier than they are and increases concentration risk.”
“The nature of markets has also evolved. Moves feel sharper and faster than in the past, driven by automated trading, easier access for retail investors and the continued rise of index tracking.”
Despite the challenging backdrop, Thomson believes periods of heightened volatility often present attractive opportunities for long-term investors.
He continues: “Big market moves are never comfortable, but they are often when the best opportunities emerge. When prices swing wildly without a corresponding change in fundamentals, you can take profits where valuations look stretched and invest in high-quality businesses at levels you wouldn’t normally expect.”
Thomson also cautions against overreliance on passive strategies, which by design allocate more capital to the largest companies, reducing diversification. He explains, “Passive investing is often seen as a safer, lower-cost option, but it can lead to unintended concentration. Investors buying the market today are heavily exposed to a single dominant theme, particularly AI and its infrastructure.”
In this environment, Thomson has been actively repositioning the portfolio to take advantage of market dislocations, adding a significant number of new holdings in 2026. He says:“This is not the first time the fund has been through a difficult period, and historically it has recovered well. While we can’t guarantee the same outcome, I’m very excited about the businesses we’ve been able to buy during the recent upheaval.”
“I’ve added more new stocks in the first few months of this year than at any other point in my career. That’s not about chasing volatility—it’s because opportunities of this quality and breadth don’t come along very often.”
Recent additions include companies that have been long tracked by the team and acquired as valuations reset across sectors. The fund initiated positions in RELX and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, alongside investments aligned to resource security and electrification, known as the ‘HALO’ trade (hard assets and low obsolescence risk). Thomson prefers to own the ‘picks and shovels’ businesses rather than direct commodity exposure, such as Sandvik and Caterpillar.
He adds: “Markets are repricing entire sectors very quickly, often because narratives have shifted rather than fundamentals deteriorating. That’s exactly the type of environment where long-term, active stock-picking can add real value. Volatility is never easy but these periods often create the chance to make transformational investments, when high-quality businesses are mispriced.”
As the fund enters its next chapter, Rathbones believes its long-term, active approach remains well placed to navigate changing market conditions and uncover opportunities across global equity markets.
