FundCalibre - Investing on the go

Investing on the go gives you direct access to the people who manage your ISA and pensions savings. Our hosts will be interviewing finance professionals on everything from their successes and failures to current ideas and insights. At meetings, before events and even if we bump into them on the street, we'll grab five minutes with these experts to discuss how your own personal finances could be impacted by topics such as US elections, the move from petrol to electric vehicles, the growth in artificial intelligence and robots, and so much more. Our ultimate goal is to bring to life the world of investments and uncover new and exciting opportunities, all while inspiring you to invest and giving you the confidence and knowledge to make the right decisions. To do this we often ask the managers why they are invested in individual companies. This is for illustration only and should not be taken as a recommendation to buy or sell that stock. The fund manager may or may not still own these companies at the time of your listening. For more investment research visit us at www.fundcalibre.com and follow us on twitter and facebook @FundCalibre

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FundCalibre - Investing on the go

397. Meet the fund finding the next wave of innovation (before the market)

May 21, 2026 • FundCalibre

0:00 | 27:54

Innovation is often associated with headline-grabbing tech giants, but this episode reveals a far broader opportunity set across global markets. Graeme Bencke and Mikhail Zverev, co-managers of the WS Amati Global Innovation fund, introduce the fund’s disciplined framework that categorises companies as pioneers, enablers and adopters of technological change, and explain how each play a distinct role in capturing innovation-driven growth. The managers also explain how they identify “innovation frontiers” where change is already being adopted rather than speculative future trends. From AI infrastructure and semiconductors to life sciences, defence, and industrial automation, the conversation highlights how structural change is creating investable opportunities across sectors, while emphasising valuation discipline, profitability and real-world business quality over hype.

What’s covered in this episode:

Innovation beyond traditional tech investing
The fund’s pioneer, enabler, adopter framework explained
How innovation creates investable inefficiencies
Why valuation and profitability still matter
“Innovation frontier” definition and selection process
AI ecosystem opportunities beyond mega-caps
Semiconductors, photonics and AI infrastructure
Defence tech and geopolitical-driven innovation
Life sciences, diagnostics, and biotech tools
Industrial automation and machine vision trends
RFID and real-world “Internet of Things” applications
Overhyped vs under-appreciated innovation areas
Medium-sized companies as growth sweet spots

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.