Vantage: PCFT – global financials, an interview with George Barrow

In this interview, George Barrow, one of the three portfolio managers of the Polar Capital Global Financials Trust (ticker: PCFT), gives some background on the trust, including that it has a five-year, 100% tender offer at NAV. He discusses the financials sector which, despite being the second-largest sector within global indices, tends to be overlooked by some investors. The manager highlights the diversification in the financials area and the different economic and pricing cycles in its underlying subsectors. The discussion turns to the broad investment themes within the portfolio including: European banks with robust balance sheets that are returning cash to shareholders, but are still trading on modest valuations; US and European banks operating in pro-growth regulatory environments; monetisation of data, which is benefiting the exchanges and online trading platforms; and selected emerging markets, where financial product penetration is low. George also talks about the US tariffs and PCFT’s recent portfolio changes. He outlines the changes that have been made to make the trust more attractive to retail shareholders, namely a reduced fee structure and an enhanced dividend policy. The interview concludes by highlighting how well the financial sector has performed and why this may continue.