Meet the manager: Georgina Brittain

If you weren’t a fund manager, what job would you do?
 

• As a qualified barrister, the Bar is the obvious answer but my colleagues frequently tell me I should be a TV presenter due to my enthusiasm and panache!
   

What was the proudest moment of your career?
 

• One of my best investments was buying ARM in my Smaller Companies Investment Trust when it first went public. On a personal note, one time a private investor in one of the investment trusts that I manage explained to me that he had sold some of his shares and that he was now financially secure for the rest of his life – there is no better reward for an investor.
   

What was the most difficult moment of your career and why?

• The global financial crisis. While I had seen bear markets before, I had not experienced anything of this magnitude or duration. Why – trying to keep perspective, and not get overwhelmed by negativity. It gave me some useful learnings for more recent times such as investing during the pandemic.

What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
 

• Be kind to yourself; there are others who won’t be.
   

Away from the workplace, how do you spend your time? Is there a particular hobby you enjoy, or something that is a staple of your weekends?
 

• Horses. And more horses!
   

Tell us about the last book you read or the last podcast you listened to?
 

• Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet (I cried). And on my recent long plane journey, Richard Osman’s latest, The Bullet that Missed (I cried with laughter).
   

Where was the last place you went on holiday and why?
 

• Argentina. Horses (again), and red wine!
   

In your personal life, what would you like to achieve in the next 12 months?
 

• Health, wealth and happiness. Not necessarily in that order.