Citywire Returns to Andermatt: March 12-14

Join us to discover how our strategic approach and cohesive structures can unlock the key to consistent alpha in emerging market debt.

This presentation will explore the structures, frameworks, and strategies for identifying and capturing opportunities in diverse and rapidly evolving emerging markets. Firstly, we will examine the optimal team structure that strikes the fine balance of regional expertise, sector specialisation, and collaborative decision-making to maximise efficiency of idea generation. Next, focus will be given to the prominence of a robust research framework that integrates top-down macro insight with bottom-up fundamental analysis, enabling informed decision-making in complex environments. Finally, we will provide our insights into building resilient portfolios that align with evolving market dynamics while generating alpha.

Workshop Objective: We’ll demonstrate how we generate alpha in emerging market debt, through robust research frameworks, dedicated resources, and active management techniques that can uncover a world of unique investment opportunities.

As markets reach an inflection point, real assets stand out for their potential to diversify, protect against inflation and provide solid returns. As the world’s largest active manager specializing in liquid real assets, Cohen & Steers offers unmatched expertise in this space. Thoughtful diversification across real assets is likely to deliver improved risk/reward outcomes, without sacrificing growth potential. Learn how to implement the potential benefits of real assets in a portfolio with Cohen & Steers.

Workshop Objective: To understand the key strategic benefits of diversified real assets, why the next several years remain critical to maintaining and adding an allocation, and Cohen & Steers’ unique investment approach.

Company Profile: Dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in everything we do, Cohen & Steers, New York Stock Exchange listed company, is a leading global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income, focused on delivering alpha, income and diversification. Our teams are relentless in their drive to provide superior investment solutions and passionate about constantly innovating to meet the needs of clients today and anticipate their challenges of tomorrow.

Given much attention has been focussed on the US large cap market in recent times, especially the so-called “Magnificent 7” technology stocks, we believe that there is an opportunity to reassess the somewhat overlooked small cap part of the market. 
As the US economy has proven to be more resilient than expected with a strong labour market and falling inflation, fears of a deep recession have materially receded too. 
Moderating inflation and lower rates, combined with a more positive economic picture, provide a constructive environment for US small caps, especially with their bias to the domestic economy and cheap relative valuation. 
Add a Trump presidency to the mix and we have a very encouraging set of conditions for US small cap stocks to flourish. 
Against this backdrop, we employ an active investment process which has consistently delivered superior risk-adjusted returns versus our benchmark through the cycle.

Workshop Objective: To present the opportunities we’re seeing in US small caps from a macro perspective and through our active, bottom-up approach to stock selection in a core small cap portfolio.

Company Profile: At Columbia Threadneedle Investments, we invest to make a difference in your world, and the wider world. Millions of people rely on us to manage their money and invest for their future; together they entrust us with €602 billion*. We are globally connected with a team of over 650 investment professionals providing diverse expertise, spanning almost every asset class and market. We are intense about research as we believe that original independent research makes investment decisions smarter. We have a responsible ethos as investment decisions today help define the future we all seek. Every day, we’re looking for opportunities to improve how we invest and what our clients experience; our focus on continuous improvement means that we never stand still. Whatever world you want, our purpose is to help you achieve it.
*Data as of 30 September 2024

With over a decade of track record and EUR 3 billion in assets under management, our funds are designed to enhance both equity and bond portfolios. These UCITS-compliant strategies systematically capture risk premiums, delivering consistent and reliable returns for our investors. Two of our portfolio managers invite you to a short introduction.

Workshop Objective: We would like to warmly invite you to a focused session on our investment strategy. Discover how our decade-long, systematic approach delivers consistent returns and learn about:

1.  Systematic Approach: Benefits of our proven, rule-based method.

2.  Avoiding Forecasts: How avoiding unreliable predictions enhances risk management.

3.  Simplifying Complexity: The role of liquidity and simplicity in achieving stable returns.

4.  Preparing for Declines: Tools for managing market downturns.

5.  Continuous Hedging: Ensuring long-term success and liquidity.

Join us to see how these insights can enhance your investment strategy.

Over the past decade, US equity markets have been dominated by a few mega-cap growth companies whose recent share price performance has been further bolstered by the expectation that they will benefit from AI advancements. This trend may not persist over the coming decade due to elevated valuations, limited AI-driven revenue, increasing competition, and a narrowing growth premium versus the rest of the market. Moreover, the investment backdrop - consisting of low interest rates and subdued inflation - that supported the outperformance of these companies has now transpired. A diversified portfolio of small and mid-cap companies may fare better in an environment characterized by higher interest rates, inflation and geopolitical tensions.  This would align with historical trends showing that the performance of the S&P 500 index mirrors that of its equal-weighted counterpart over the long term.

Workshop Objective: We will explore the extraordinary concentration in the US market and the importance of finding high quality companies that will help build a portfolio that can weather all market environments.

Company Profile: Findlay Park Partners LLP, is an independent investment partnership based in London, specialising in US equities for over 25 years.

From our Investment Philosophy to our culture and team, we believe in a simple and consistent approach to everything we do. Our founder’s philosophy has guided our team for over 25 years, and is aligned to our purpose; to deliver compelling compound returns for our investors, measured over decades.

The American Fund is our only fund and our sole focus. As an active manager, we aim to invest in a diversified portfolio of high quality, durable companies. Our starting point when considering any company for investment is not ‘how much can we make if we get it right’? but rather ‘how much could we lose if we get it wrong?’ We aim to control the downside risk in each investment, to keep compounding at an attractive rate for our investors.

•    History tells us that fixed income sectors will outperform cash in a rate-cutting environment. As we enter the Trump 2.0 era and contemplate the journey to the neutral rate, we could be in for a bumpy ride. 
 
•    Against this backdrop, we discuss the benefits of a multi-sector approach that uses active asset allocation across a wide array of fixed income asset classes to deliver performance. We outline our asset allocation views and why we believe sectors such as collateralised loan obligations (CLO) and asset-backed securities (ABS) – will be key in 2025.  In the current tight-spread environment, it is vital for investors to maximize income per unit of risk without leaving any yield on the table.

Workshop Objective: An opportunity to hear about our approach to active asset allocation within our multi-sector credit strategies and with a deeper dive into why we like broad securitised debt generally and AAA CLOs more specifically.

Company Profile: Janus Henderson’s mission is to help clients define and achieve superior financial outcomes through differentiated insights, disciplined investments and world-class service. We’re dedicated to investing in a brighter future together. Formed in 2017 from the merger between Janus Capital Group and Henderson Global Investors, we have 90 years’ experience in investing, underpinned by a culture deep rooted in research. With over 340 investment professionals worldwide, who meet regularly to share insights, we’re able to offer a world-class service providing tailored solutions and the personal touch of a local partner.

Passive investing has its risks, which are even more heightened in today’s market environment. Active management has historically been cyclical, and we believe this remains true despite the fact thatexcess returns have compressed over the last 15 years. Learn how our active ETFs offer opportunities in the US market, which has mostly been accessed passively over the past several years.

Workshop Objective: To explain the concept of active ETFs and explore US equity strategies available in the ETF wrapper.

Company Profile: J.P. Morgan ETFs are rigorously designed to push the boundaries of ETF investing so that investors can build diversified, competitively priced portfolios. Our ETF solutions are backed by the extensive research, trading and technology resources of one of the world’s leading asset managers. It’s this combination of investment expertise and ETF know-how that sets our ETFs apart, allowing us to track indexes more efficiently, and provide competitively priced access to new opportunities through the development of innovative active strategies. J.P. Morgan Asset Management is one of the fastest growing UCITS ETF providers with over 35bn US dollar assets under management.

Amid ongoing trends of market volatility, inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, many investors are seeking investment opportunities to help mitigate such downside risk, generate stable income, and deliver resilient returns. The PIMCO Private Diversified Lending Fund (“PDLF”) is a highly diversified private lending fund that leverages PIMCO’s position as a global fixed income leader with deep credit expertise. It seeks to provide income-driven returns by primarily investing in performing private credit across the residential, commercial, specialty finance and corporate sectors.

Workshop Objective: Present PDLF as a strategy that provides investors access to the full spectrum of private credit opportunities in the current market environment, positioned to perform across different interest rate scenarios, offering attractive yields and potential for capital appreciation.

Company Profile: PIMCO is a global leader in active bond fund management with extensive expertise in both public and private markets. We invest our clients' funds across a broad spectrum of bond and credit markets, leveraging our decades of experience in navigating complex markets. Our flexible approach and close relationships with issuers have made us one of the world's largest providers of traditional and non-traditional investment solutions for companies seeking financing and investors looking for risk-adjusted returns. PIMCO is part of Allianz S.E., a leading global financial services provider.

Corporate Hybrids, subordinated bonds issued by IG non-financial companies, offer HY-like returns for investment grade default risk. The Corporate Hybrids market has grown tenfold since 2010 and has developed into a diversified and standardised asset class with a broad investor base. With its advantageous characteristics for both issuers (rating preservation) and investors (high coupons) it is one of the sweet spots in Fixed Income. In 2024 Corporate Hybrids have delivered again with a YTD performance of 12%, more than double the 5% of European Senior Corporate bonds.

Workshop Objective: A walk down the capital structure of high quality credits

Company Profile: Proven specialists develop high-quality investment and pension solutions for private investors, companies and institutions under the Swisscanto brand. With its sustainability research, which has existed since 1996, Asset Management still plays a pioneering role in the field of sustainability today. These many years of experience combined with our established, systematic investment approach form a unique symbiosis of two successful core competencies.

How to get alpha while keeping the main sources of risk in the emerging market bond markets under control? This is one of the questions that Mauro Favini, Senior Portfolio Manager of the Vanguard Emerging Markets fund, will answer during his presentation. 

It will also explore how the team identifies and avoids over-exposure to correlated risks, instead seeking relative value opportunities through a thorough bond selection process. 

Finally, he will guide us through his view on risks and performance in emerging markets for the coming year. 

Workshop Objective: The objective of the workshop is to present Vanguard capabilities in managing Emerging Market (EM) bonds and how we see EM risk and performance evolving over the next year.