Billionaire City financier Lord Michael Spencer has invested more than £10m of his own cash in a newly launched global equity fund run by a former NatWest and Citibank investor.
He has invested both in the Nutshell Growth equity fund, and Nutshell Asset Management, the company which operates the fund.
Both are run by Mark Ellis, who founded the company in 2019 and has previously run some of Spencer’s wealth in a private capacity. The fund had assets of just over £30m at the end of December 2021.
Spencer was estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to have amassed a £1.2bn fortune in 2021, having founded and subsequently sold the brokerage firm ICAP.
Commenting on his decision to invest, Spencer told FTAdviser: “I was immediately impressed by Mark when he was setting up Nutshell and so I invested in both the business and the fund.
"They have a rigorous investment process and a model that is delivering excellent results. Nutshell also has the potential to be scaled swiftly as more and more people learn about their success.”
The investment was made via IPGL, Spencer's personal investment firm. Spencer is also a significant shareholder in AssetCo, the fund management consolidator run by Martin Gilbert, which has acquired stakes in businesses as diverse as platform provider Parmenion and fund house River and Mercantile.
Spencer is also a significant shareholder in the AJ Bell platform.
Ellis said he aims for Nutshell to invest in a similar way to both Fundsmith and Lindsell Train, that is, investing in growth equities. Though it will buy and sell its holdings more frequently than the managers of those funds.
david.thorpe@ft.com
