HELEN STEERS IN FOCUS: SIVANTOS

Singapore-headquartered Sivantos makes hearing aids. It has 15pc of the global market.

We expect it to be able to maintain its strong position as it spends £84m a year on research and development. One of the funds we own, EQT, has a large stake in the company and we liked it so much that we invested another £3m alongside the fund in 2015. It owns hearing aid brands Signia and Audio Service.

been Spotify, the Swedish music streaming service.

We were early investors via a fund and had exposure to the firm when it launched. We reaped the rewards of our investment when it publicly listed its shares in 2018.

AND YOUR WORST?

We underestimated the pace of change in the retail sector. “Amazonification” – where customers flocked to ecommerce – caught us off-guard.

This was evident in some of our positions in the consumer business a few years ago. The lesson we learnt is that understanding digital disruption is critical. For compliance reasons, I can’t give you the names of the firms.

HOW ARE YOU PAID?

I invest in the fund every month with my pension and Isa. There is also a share savings scheme at work that I use. I am not paid directly for the performance of the fund, but my job security depends on its success.

WHAT WOULD YOU BE IF YOU WEREN’T A FUND MANAGER?

I trained as an engineer before joining the investing world. I am fascinated by space, so in another life I could have been a satellite engineer.