Riding the wave: thematic investing in the Trump era

A locally-managed thematic fund is showing early signs of promise although US President Trump’s market-moving rhetoric is helping keep its manager on his toes.

After 10 years at Kiwi Wealth, Nathan Field joined Generate in 2023 as Global Equities Portfolio Manager. The role sees him managing the company’s thematic fund, made up of 100% global equities, which has a recommended investment timeframe of 10 years attached.

It’s early days and volatility is to be expected, the fund manager says, but in the 12 months to the end of January, it delivered a return of 32.2%, compared to the benchmarked market index which had a return of 27.2% for the same period.

“We are looking for stuff that's not necessarily in a financial statement or is going to be spit out of a spreadsheet,” says Nathan Field.