Gerrit Smit

Gerrit Smit is Partner and Chairman of Stonehage Fleming’s Global Equity Management business and Chairman of the Global Best Ideas Investment Committee. Stonehage Fleming describes him as the founder of Global Best Ideas and says he joined the group in 2008 after more than 20 years as an equity analyst, chief investment strategist, and chief investment officer for Sanlam’s international portfolios.

An earlier Stonehage Fleming profile states that Smit established the Global Best Ideas strategy in 2009 and led the specialist Global Equity Management unit, with responsibility for portfolio management and equity research. That profile said the team managed about USD 5 billion in assets for trusts, charities, individuals, families, and institutional investors.

Before Stonehage Fleming, Smit spent most of his career at Sanlam Investment Management. He started as an equity analyst, rose to Chief Investment Strategist, worked on corporate actions and the firm’s foreign asset-swap process, and later became Chief Investment Officer in London for Sanlam’s international equity portfolios. He also served as Head of Research at a specialist fund manager before joining Stonehage Fleming.

Smit holds an Honours B.Com degree from the University of Stellenbosch and the University of South Africa, and Stonehage Fleming’s current profile also lists a PSM qualification from the Business School of the University of Stellenbosch. UK Companies House lists Gerrit Erasmus Smit as a director of Stonehage Fleming Investment Management Limited, appointed 6 November 2023.

• Invests in public-market global equities, not seed-stage private companies. The available evidence points to him as a listed-equity fund manager rather than an angel investor.
• The Global Best Ideas philosophy is to invest in “best-in-class businesses” selected for quality, strategic competitive edge, and value.
• The strategy seeks organic revenue growth, sustainable earnings growth, quality of management, strategic competitive edge, and attractive valuation.
• The portfolio is concentrated: Global Best Ideas describes the fund as a high-conviction global portfolio of 20-30 holdings.
• The process uses 15 quality tests, focusing on profitability, sustainability of revenue and earnings growth, liquidity, low volatility, organic growth, operating margin, return on capital, leverage, dividend record, cash conversion, and ESG risks.
• Smit has said the strategy targets companies with above-average sustainable organic growth and a culture of innovation and renewal; he told WealthBriefing that “top-line growth but if it is not profitable, then it is not for us.”
• He favors long holding periods and low turnover, with a willingness to sell if valuation becomes excessive, competitive edge erodes, or facts change.
• He has explicitly avoided some areas: commodities because management cannot control the top line, auto/electric-vehicle manufacturers because of nascent technology and high competition, and tobacco because the fund is a quality-growth strategy.