Nutshell's Ellis on not 'paying a manager to be a soothsayer'

Nutshell is backed by Michael Spencer, a long-time rival of Fundsmith's Terry Smith, and Ellis was keen to put the fund in direct opposition to growth funds at other firms, such as Lindsell Train and Blue Whale. "Terry Smith, his mantra very famously is to buy great quality companies, to buy them cheaply, and then do nothing. And we would agree very much for the first two elements of that, to buy good companies and to buy them cheaply. But we do not do nothing," said Ellis. The fund is unusual for its extremely high turnover, with Ellis reassessing the portfolio twice a month, as well...