SG Hiscock has quietly been running what it claims is Australia’s only fund devoted to companies with superior “intellectual capital”.

The Australian equities vehicle, known as SGH IC²E (for SG Hiscock Intellectual Capital/ Competitive Edge), is run by Callum Burns and returned a net 20 per cent between its February 1 inception and October 31, according to SG Hiscock managing director, Stephen Hiscock. The 46 current holdings of the fund all possess, in the opinion of the portfolio manager, “a sustainable competitive edge due to their intellectual capital…defined as a company’s intangible assets such as intellectual property – patents, trademarks, copyrights – as well as assets such as brands, mastheads, distribution rights, production/process know-how, sales and marketing information, licences, assembled workforce/management and other assets without tangible physical substance.” Hiscock said the the three largest holdings of the fund were currently Bravura, the investment administration software provider; IBA Health, a health industry supplier; and pharmaceutical company Pharmaxis. He said companies with deep intellectual resources like Macquarie Bank, or entrenched brand names like Fosters, were other potential investee companies. The fund is running on staff money and would not be marketed, through distributor and responsible entity Equity Trustees, until it had established a longer track record according to Hiscock. Last week, the world’s first investible intellectual property stock index was launched in the US. The Ocean Tomo 300 Patent Index comprises 300 global companies that own patents for valuable innovations.