Since changing our name in 2006 for corporate reasons and given that there is no-one in our company who can boast the name of Munro, we are frequently asked just how we arrived at the company name. It is always an unenviable task to try and find an appropriate name for a company such that it conveys externally what we are trying to achieve internally. As can be imagined, there were many, many possibilities ranging from the accurate but boring right down to the clearly ludicrous at the other end of the scale.

In the end, we decided on Munros from its mountaineering context. In 1891, Sir Hugh Munro of Lindertis decided that he wished to compile a list of every Scottish mountain which was in excess of 3000 feet (914 metres) in height. Sir Hugh’s initial survey came up with some 284 Scottish mountains which since then have become known collectively as The Munros. Sir Hugh’s pioneering work has led to a whole new sport of “Munro bagging” in which participants try to conquer as many, or indeed all, of the Munros. From our perspective we took the view that the Munros name was associated with the highest peaks in Scotland and that we should try to emulate this natural phenomenon in the investment world by reaching the highest available performance peaks.