Fundsmith profits jumped by almost a fifth in the last financial year despite a rare period of underperformance as his investment style fell out of favour.
Fundsmith LLP accounts show the UK business enjoyed profits of £57.7m for the year ended 31 March 2021, compared to £48.5m in the previous financial year. That represents an increase of 19%.
Terry Smith (pictured) enjoyed a £35.7m payout from the profits, up from the £29.7m he took home the previous year. Smith also benefits from the money Fundsmith LLP pays out to Fundsmith Investment Services, which is based in Mauritius and therefore does not have to make its accounts public.
In the latest accounts, Fundsmith LLP paid Fundsmith Investment Services £188.1m, off the back of turnover totalling £279.3m. That’s compared to £156m the previous financial year. Smith is a majority owner of Fundsmith Investment Services.
Over the period, the flagship Fundsmith Equity fund returned 31.8% compared to an average 45.1% in the Investment Association Global sector.
In the period since, Fundsmith Equity has returned to outperformance compared to the IA Global sector, delivering 19.7% compared to the 13.5% average among its peers.
Over the reporting period, Fundsmith LLP staff numbers increased from 23 to 26 with the total staff bill coming in at £16.9m compared to £11.8m in the year ended March 2020.
Correction – this article originally used flows data from 2020
