Our Global approach means we can look into every corner of the World for opportunities, unconstrained by geography. We only select 25 - 35 stocks at a time, which allows us to invest only in what our research and analysis identify as the best companies of the moment. There are a lot of stocks out there, so it is important we focus only on the best possible companies available.
Our investment team comprises six highly experienced professionals who company-wide focus solely on a universe of less than 100 high-quality companies. This enables each member of the team to spend significant time analysing each potential investment.
It is for this reason we believe our understanding of our investee companies is second to none. What is more, all our research is our own. This means we generate our own understanding of each company based on proprietary research, raising conviction in our conclusions and allowing us to make better informed investment decisions.
We run a concentrated portfolio of 25 - 35 stocks, for three very clear reasons:
Do we employ a value perspective? Are we invested in growth stocks? Are we buy-and-hold? Do you trade within the portfolio? These are some of the questions we get asked all the time, and our answer is always the same – we apply a consistent approach that we believe can generate significant outperformance over time.
We want to buy companies that will benefit from structural growth trends, are able to significantly grow profits over time, yet are also available to buy at attractive valuations. We would like to buy a company and hold it forever, but we understand that sometimes the valuation becomes too expensive or the company’s prospects change, which means we may sell the stock in favour of better opportunities.
To maximise returns you can’t rely on one company outperforming the market every year. Over time, the market conditions change, valuations change and industries change, and therefore the investments in the Fund should always provide the best chance of delivering better-than-average returns.
In the world of investment jargon, we adopt a “bottom up” approach. This is where we focus predominantly on the individual company, gaining a thorough understanding of their strategy, growth prospects and competitive advantages. However, it is also important that we keep our eye on the competitive environment and the actions of industry rivals to ensure that our companies are not under threat from changes in technology or regulations.
It is important that an active manager can demonstrate their ability to beat the market, i.e. to make more than the market in rising markets and to give less money back in falling markets. For this reason, whenever we show our performance, we do so relative to our comparator benchmark. As active managers our only interest is outperforming this benchmark to add value for our investors.