Julian Robbins
Head of Research at Fundsmith, co-host of the annual shareholder meetings, and partner at the UK's largest equity fund
Julian Robbins
Summary
Julian Robbins is the Head of Research at Fundsmith, the UK's largest equity fund with over £27 billion under management. Alongside Terry Smith, he co-hosts the annual shareholder meetings, offering research insights on quality companies, competitive dynamics, and emerging trends like GLP-1 drugs' impact on consumer goods. With decades of experience in investment research, Robbins brings a long-term perspective on what drives business success versus market movements.
Background
Robbins has worked alongside Terry Smith since the 1980s, notably at BZW Investment Bank where they witnessed the 1987 market crash together. As Head of Research, he focuses on identifying high-quality businesses with durable competitive advantages and understanding how structural changes — like GLP-1 weight loss drugs or marijuana legalization — reshape consumer behavior.
Key Insights from 2025 AGM
On Quality vs. Market Sentiment
"If we divided the room and asked one half to write down what makes a business successful over 50-100 years, and the other half to write what they think drives the stock market, there would be no overlap."
On the GLP-1 Drug Revolution
Robbins highlighted the massive scope of the obesity market:
- Current market: $31.6 billion
- Estimated opportunity: $100-350 billion
- At least 400 companies working on weight loss drugs
He noted that "weight loss" drugs will evolve into "weight management" drugs taken daily like statins or aspirin.
On Government and Competitiveness
"The United States has 50 individual states that compete for capital and talent more dynamically than European countries. The top state income tax in California is 13.3%, while Florida and Texas have no state income tax at all. This explains why capital and people are moving between states."
On Cloud Provider Capital Expenditure
Robbins raised concerns about Big Tech capex:
- 2018: $64 billion (Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft combined)
- 2024: ~$210 billion
- 2026 forecast: $281 billion
"They need to generate substantial new revenue and profit from AI services to justify these investments – probably around $100 billion of additional cash flow."
On CEO Quality
Robbins listed the CEOs he admires most:
- Jean-Paul Agon (L'Oréal)
- Kevin Lobo (Stryker)
- Carlos Rodriguez (ADP)
- Jonathan Jaques (IDEXX)
- Dr. Udit Batra (Waters)
"Fernando Fernandez [Unilever's new CFO] will join that group – this guy is fantastic."
Related Concepts
- quality-investing — His research focuses on durable competitive advantages
- competitive-advantage — Understanding what makes businesses succeed over decades
Related People
- terry-smith — His partner at Fundsmith
Further Reading
- Fundsmith 2025 AGM Transcript — Full transcript