60 seconds on investing in "brain cluster" cities

Although 80% of the world’s economic growth comes from cities, within that there’s a very different story.

There are certain post-industrial cities with a strong manufacturing base that are doing less well. So even though these cities have huge scale and population, there is really nothing driving their economies forward.

On the other side of the coin, when you look at a city like Seattle on the west coast of the US we can see a city which typifies what we look for.

Seattle has a very strong innovation centre. It is what we describe as a “brain cluster”, where technology and research institutes meet and drive the new economy forward.

Effectively you get a self-fulfilling prophecy where strong job creation creates further economic activity. This in turn draws people into that city and really drives the city's economy forward.