Online trading and banking provider Swissquote has introduced a Visionary Founders theme.

The theme backs listed companies where the person who dreamed the business up – in a garage, a dorm room or a spreadsheet – is still the one steering it from the corner office.

Swissquote elaborates on the new investment theme:

“Most public companies are run by professional managers who arrive well after the founding, chase quarterly targets to keep the board happy, and move on to the next role within a few years. This theme goes the other way. It targets businesses where the original founder is still in the building, as Chief Executive Officer or Executive Chairman, with more skin in the game, a longer time horizon, and none of the caution that comes with a career built on not rocking the boat”.

“Think of Jensen Huang, who has run Nvidia since co-founding it in 1993 and has since turned it into the engine room of the AI boom. Or Elon Musk at Tesla, Mark Zuckerberg at Meta, and Larry Ellison at Oracle. Closer to home, Johann Rupert has served as Executive Chairman of Swiss luxury group Richemont since founding it in 1988. These aren’t hired hands – they’re owners in the fullest sense, with their name, reputation and net worth tied directly to the share price”.