My first day working on what is now the Polar Capital Global Insurance Fund was 03 September 2001. Back then the Fund was part of Hiscox, a well-respected (re)insurer with its roots at Lloyd’s of London. I could not quite believe I was there. While in my final year of qualifying as a chartered accountant, I saw the job advertised in the FT, when you flicked through the Thursday paper pullout section. The role was to work alongside Alec Foster, Hiscox Group Investment Officer and manager of the Hiscox Insurance Portfolio, a £35m Fund that had been launched in 1998. The role demanded at least five years of experience in insurance and investing. The trouble was at that time all I had was almost three years’ experience auditing insurance companies in the London market and my investing experience comprised of punting my student loans in the stock market (not recommended but I did OK). I still applied because after all you miss 100% of the shots you do not take. Somehow, I got the job even after repeatedly pronouncing Warren Buffett’s surname “boo-FAY” in my interview with Alec. Maybe he was impressed that even at the tender age of 24 I had already found a credible hero.

I always expected a steep learning curve. What I did not anticipate was the industry I had joined to be forever changed eight days into my new role. The tragic events of 9/11 redefined the (re)insurance industry, rewriting the laws of underwriting as market participants realised that catastrophes could be caused by man as well as by Mother Nature. (Re)insurers saw risk accumulate across many more classes than they expected with losses coming from aviation, property, business interruption, loss of life, event cancellation and more. Lloyd’s of London was particularly exposed given its focus on specialty risk. There were moments in the weeks that followed when I thought maybe my dream of working in fund management was over before it even got started. Fortunately, the insurance industry prevailed in the aftermath of 9/11 and as I have seen many times now it comes out of these sad events stronger.

What remains undiminished is our determination to deliver strong and consistent returns to clients

Fund management can be a very unforgiving industry. Just being here 25 years later tells me I must be doing something right. The journey of course has not been without challenges. After 9/11 came the catastrophe events in 2005 (Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma) and the global financial crisis in 2008-09. Early in my second decade was Superstorm Sandy, in 2012, followed by the record catastrophe year of 2017 and then the pandemic of 2020-21. The past five years have included the Russia/Ukraine and Middle Eastern conflicts. We live in an Age of Risk and the risks we face are broad, ever changing and becoming more complex. Insurance companies exist to take the risks and volatility none of us want. There is never a dull moment.

Often staying in the game is about not unnecessarily taking yourself out of it. To borrow an idea from Formula One, to finish first, you must first finish. You improve your odds of survival if you stick to what you know within your circle of competence, think with a margin of safety and remember the fat tails. In insurance language, do not bet the balance sheet. As the years go by and a track record starts to build, you cannot be complacent – you must stay humble or you will be humbled. Insurance fundamentally is the risk business. Working in it means you live in a world of uncertainty every day which helps to keep you grounded. When running an insurance business, you need to think of unknown unknowns and the aggregation of risk. The same is true managing money. You do not want to interrupt the magic of compounding by making a big mistake and having a big drawdown.

What I did not fully appreciate in my early days was just how important insurance is to the functioning of the world economy. All too often people’s perception of insurance, especially in the UK, is influenced by meerkats in TV adverts, poor personal experience with an insurance claim or a story about how a family member lost their shirt at Lloyd’s of London. However, nothing much happens without insurance. Planes would not fly, ships would not sail, your Amazon package would not be delivered and, to be more topical, your data centre would not be built. Insurance really is the oil that greases the wheels of world trade.

However, the industry’s importance is lost somehow as it suffers from a ‘communication gap’. When someone says they work in insurance what often follows is a yawn from the other person as their eyes glaze over. For me, it is a fascinating industry that helps individuals, businesses and society manage uncertainty and transfer risk. It is a first responder when something bad happens in the world, whose job is to restore the unfortunate back to their prior state. The industry provides capital after catastrophes, accidents and other unexpected events, helping communities and economies rebuild. When the industry prices risk it positively influences behaviours and nudges society to respond to threats such as climate change. Let us hope the narrative improves in the years ahead. 

[The key lessons from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger] are to be a learning machine, be curious, recognise the power of incentives and keep it simple

As I look back on the past 25 years, much has changed but much has stayed the same. What remains undiminished is our determination to deliver strong and consistent returns to clients. Insurance is disconnected to many parts of financial markets and can therefore provide valuable diversification for investors. It is an industry where the power of compounding is evident, something not lost on Warren Buffett many decades ago when Berkshire Hathaway entered the insurance business. Few people are excited about insurance, which leads to relatively steady valuations over time and a strong correlation between stock performance and growth in book value and dividends per share.

Let us look at my 25-year scorecard. Of course, it is not just mine. From 2001 until 2007 I was Alec’s analyst and we were then Fund Co-Managers from 2008 to 2015. I had full responsibility of the Fund from 2016-22, since when I have been Lead Fund Manager with Dominic Evans after he was promoted from Analyst to Fund Manager. I am very proud of the 25-year numbers shown here. The Fund performance is based on the Retail share class; returns for institutional investors are 50bps per annum higher and in double-digit territory. 

Source: Polar Capital, September 2026. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance. The value of investments may go down as well as up and you might get back less than you originally invested as there is no guarantee in place.

The Fund has had a simple process from day one which I quickly learned and have adopted ever since: find the best 30-35 specialty insurance businesses and own them for the long term. When asked for the key to their success, both Warren Buffett and Bill Gates said “focus”. We have always had that. Luckily for me it has meant I have not had to think too hard about the macro or politics as these do not materially impact the insurance business. However, I have always been conscious that when managing a sector-specific fund, you can take focus too far. For a long time, I have appreciated the need for us to look beyond our own insurance goldfish bowl. This is even more critical in today’s AI and tech world of exponential change. After all, to a man with a hammer everything looks like a nail. I try and keep in mind how much importance Charlie Munger gave to multi-disciplinary thinking.

I was lucky enough to discover Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger during my teenage years and they have been heroes ever since. I have attended in person the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting 16 times and have been lucky to meet both of them. Their lessons are endless, with key ones including to be a learning machine, be curious, recognise the power of incentives and keep it simple. Their lessons and wisdom transcend finance.

Top of my list is the importance of compounding. Everything compounds over time which shows the value of a long-time horizon. The second quarter this year was my 100^th earnings season. Each earnings result is a snapshot in time, but when you put those pictures together you get a movie. Some of our movies of the companies we have invested in have been a great watch and there is more to look forward to. Compounding is most thought of in financial terms, but compounding works everywhere, for example relationships, health, in nature and sleep. It really pays to adopt habits whose benefits can then compound over time. Often these habits compound on each other, leading to what Charlie called a “Lollapalooza Effect”.

The insurance industry prevailed in the aftermath of 9/11 and as I have seen many times now it comes out of these sad events stronger

Over 25 years, £1,000 invested in the Fund on 3 September 2001 has compounded to £10,340 to the end of July 2026. Over the same timeframe, the Fund has grown from £35m when I started to £2.4bn. It has been a steady journey more than a spectacular rollercoaster with returns coming typically in the more challenging times for the economy and financial markets, reflecting the defensive qualities of the non-life insurance industry.

I often think intensity and excitement can be overrated and consistency underrated. I am very happy with the Fund being at the ‘dull and boring’ end of the spectrum. I have always described it as having a ‘get rich slow, compounding of returns’ profile. Nothing goes up in a straight line so sometimes that requires patience but I remain convinced, even at times when the voting machine is in overdrive, that it is the weighing machine that ultimately wins.

I am always reminded of the fact that 99% of Warren Buffett’s wealth came after his 65^th birthday. That last double makes a huge difference. This is well articulated by Morgan Housel, one of my favourite authors and thinkers and a person who I have been lucky to meet in Omaha: “A great irony in finance is that the fastest way to get rich is often to go slow…Like so many things in life, speed gets all the attention but slow has all the power.”

I believe the Fund can continue its strong absolute and relative performance for many years to come. None of this would have been possible without Alec giving that young boy a chance and I remain very grateful for his trust, mentorship and friendship that began a quarter of a century ago. I would also like to thank all my colleagues at Hiscox and Polar Capital over the years for their support. Fund management is a team sport. Looking ahead, Warren and Charlie have set the bar high. My next 25 years start now.