The Sextant Quality Focus fund is Amiral Gestion's proposal for investing in equities under very specific premises: a highly concentrated portfolio, with a bias towards the world's highest quality companies, but with a focus on their valuation.

In its first year (the strategy was launched on November 30, 2022), two-thirds of the generated returns came from stock picking, partly due to starting the year with a slight overweight in major U.S. technology sector names, including bets that proved correct in trends such as generative AI. As a result, the fund ended 2023 with a 39.4% return for its retail class, about 20 points above its benchmark index.

Workshop Objective: We will present not only the manager's vision of the market but also our Sextant Quality Focus fund, it’s unique investment approach, which will have almost completed its second year of Track record. This fund follows a straightforward strategy: we aim to invest in a concentrated portfolio (around 30 stocks) consisting of the highest quality companies in the world, with a focus on their valuation. Unlike most existing quality strategies in the market, at Amiral Gestion, we believe that adding the discipline of company valuation to the quality filter is a distinctive and very timely value proposition in the current environment. Together with the manager Vincent Mercadier, we will explain in detail the fund's investment philosophy, its current positioning and medium-term outlook, as well as review some of the portfolio's investment cases.

In 2024, global macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds remain a principal concern for investors. We will stress the importance of exposure to structural growth drivers, referring to selective opportunities in AI and Reshoring which have the potential to be net beneficiaries during periods of uncertainty.

Workshop Objectives:
- The importance of adaptability and a repeatable investment process in achieving significant outperformance.
- Blue Whale’s approach to selecting quality, growth businesses.
- Why a high-conviction approach can be beneficial amid periods of heightened uncertainty.

Company Profile: Blue Whale Capital is a London-based boutique asset management firm. Co-founded by Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Yiu, the firm is committed to delivering consistent, significant outperformance. The firm's flagship strategy, the WS Blue Whale Growth Fund, is promoted only in the UK and was launched in September 2017. The Blue Whale Investments Funds ICAV, an Irish UCITS, was launched in September 2020. Both are long-only global equity funds, focusing on large-cap stocks in developed markets. The five-member investment team adopts a high-conviction, valuation-driven approach to construct a concentrated portfolio of high-quality businesses. 

We will present our latest views on the macroeconomic environment, where growth and inflation are heading with an outlook for 2025.
From there, we give an overview of our strongest convictions across global fixed income markets. 
Namely how we position in terms of rates curve and duration, as well as the high to low beta credit asset classes (IG, HY, EM).

Workshop Objective: Get away with the best fixed income ideas for 2025

Company Profile: As a conviction-driven investment house founded in the belief that wealth should be used to build world of tomorrow, Edmond de Rothschild specialises in Private Banking and Asset Management and serves an international clientele of families, entrepreneurs and institutional investors. The group is also active in Corporate Finance, Private Equity, Real Estate and Fund Services. Its resolutely family-run nature gives Edmond de Rothschild the independence necessary to propose bold strategies and long-term investments, rooted in the real economy. 
Created in 1953, the Group now has CHF 163 billion in assets under management, 2,600 employees and 28 locations worldwide.

While the performance of the US stock market has been dominated by a small group of mega cap tech stocks over the last couple of years, Mark Sherlock explains why he believes a change in market leadership is coming. Benefitting from higher domestic exposure to a robust underlying economy, valuation metrics at multi-year lows and strong anticipated earnings growth over the coming quarters, the set up for US SMID looks compelling. The underlying structural attractions of the asset class – including its relative lack of sell side coverage – now combine with the cyclical forces which we believe will propel the index meaningfully higher. 

Workshop Objectives: Mark will lay out where he sees value in the asset class, how the strategy is positioned to benefit and why now is a great time to invest.
•    Learn how the changed economic backdrop now supports active investment in SMID.
•    Gain an insight into where the US economy is heading in the year ahead.
•    Discover which sectors and stocks will see the strongest

Company Profile: Federated Hermes is guided by the conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create long-term wealth. We provide specialised capabilities across equity, fixed income and private markets, in addition to multi-asset strategies and liquidity-management. Through pioneering stewardship services, we engage companies on strategic and sustainability concerns to promote investors’ long-term performance and fiduciary interests. Our goals are to help people invest and retire better, to help clients achieve better risk-adjusted returns and, where possible, to contribute to positive outcomes that benefit the wider world.

Investing in “quality” is a fashionable concept, but the exact definition can vary significantly. We explain how we define quality, and most importantly to what end: to compound the underlying earnings of the companies we part-own as shareholders at an attractive rate over the long term.  We do this with an independent mindset, following a benchmark-agnostic and common-sense approach. That means we only invest in companies whose prospects and risks we can assess with a reasonable degree of confidence, and whose shares trade at attractive valuations. The result: a track record of more than 25 years of successful “compounding” with the Flossbach von Storch Global Quality fund, with substantially reduced drawdowns in times of severe market stress.

Workshop Objective: Explain our definition of quality, what motivates and differentiates it, and show based on real examples how we intend to achieve our goal of long-term compounding.

Company Profile: With assets under management of around EUR 70 billion and 350 employees, Flossbach von Storch is one of the leading bank-independent asset managers in Europe. The company was founded in Cologne in 1998 by Dr Bert Flossbach and Kurt von Storch. Its clients include fund investors, institutional investors, high-net-worth individuals, and families.  All investment decisions are made on the basis of an investment-strategic world view, which is derived from the critical analysis of economic and political contexts. As an owner-managed company, Flossbach von Storch is not bound by the guidelines of a bank or corporate group.

In this presentation we will analyse the growing opportunity offered by Private Markets and the reasons for integrating these assets into client portfolios, ensuring alignment with investment goals and risk tolerance. We will touch upon the increasing interest from individual investors and the potential benefits of diversifying traditional portfolios with private market assets. We will also present our approach for creating investment solutions specifically designed for the wealth channel and illustrate with real case studies. 

Workshop Objective: Participants will have a comprehensive understanding of the potential advantages and key factors to consider when adding private markets assets to their client’s portfolios. They will also learn from our experience distributing retail alternatives what are the main priorities and concerns from wealth clients. 

Company Profile: Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs, we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market—overseeing more than $2.7 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of June 30, 2023. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time.

Sustainability of positive corporate outcomes is an obvious pre-requisite for the long-term investor. Yet both the buy-side and sell side are extremely short-termist, showing little regard for long-term corporate outcomes and shunning this most fundamental tenet of investing. By applying a credit driven framework to equity investing, characterised by deep proprietary financial analysis and rigorous stress-testing, HSBC AM seek to identify only those companies with the most stable and predictable long-term profitability. The result is an unconstrained high conviction portfolio of resilient growing businesses that can withstand multiple macroeconomic scenarios over the long term to deliver more durable positive returns.

Workshop Objective:
•    Why sustainability is a necessary consideration for a long-term investor
•    How we embed fixed-income principles into valuation analysis
•    How we evaluate risk fundamentally, rather than relying on quant tools

Company Profile: HSBC Asset Management, the investment management business of the HSBC Group, invests on behalf of HSBC’s worldwide customer base of retail and private clients, intermediaries, corporates and institutions through both segregated accounts and pooled funds. HSBC Asset Management connects HSBC’s clients with investment opportunities around the world through an international network of offices in more than 20 countries and territories, delivering global capabilities with local market insight. As at 31st  of March 2024, HSBC Asset Management managed assets totaling US$712bn on behalf of its clients. Our vision is to become a core solutions and specialist Emerging Markets, Asia and Alternatives focused asset manager with client centricity, investment excellence and sustainable investing being the key proponents of our strategy. To help us achieve our strategy, we focus on five strategic growth initiatives, as follows:
1. Establish leadership in Retail, Wealth and Defined Contributions in Europe and Asia
2. Strategically expand our presence in Institutional segment
3. Build leadership in ESG and Sustainable Investing
4. Establish Global Alternatives Franchise
5. Grow our Emerging Markets and Asia capabilities

Investment manager Adam Darling will discuss the current opportunities available to investors in high yield markets, including the yields on offer and the potential to generate equity-like returns with lower volatility over the long run. Adam will discuss how robust credit research is fundamental in an uncertain macro environment and why careful credit selection is key to generating returns and managing risk. Adam also will talk about Jupiter’s approach to high yield markets, which focuses on being active, pragmatic and risk aware. Additionally, he will discuss the macro environment, credit spreads and the outlook for inflation and rates. Capital at risk. 

Workshop Objective: Attendees will have a greater understanding of how an active, pragmatic and risk aware approach to high yield credit markets can help to generate maximum returns.

Company Profile: Jupiter is a specialist, high conviction, active asset manager. We exist to help our clients achieve their long-term investment objectives. From our origins in 1985, Jupiter now offers a range of actively managed strategies available to UK and international clients including equities, fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives. Jupiter is a constituent member of the FTSE 250 Index, and has assets under management of £52.6bn /$66.4bn /€61.6bn as at 29/03/2024.

During the presentation we will put the focus on LFDE’s expertise in SMID, our team and the range of products we have. We will explain why LFDE’s stock-picking expertise is particularly relevant in this universe, and why it´s a great momentum to invest in SMID Europe. Then we will present a solution to take advantage of it.

Workshop Objective: Increase LFDE´s recognition in the Portuguese market while gaining access to fund selectors.

Company Profile: Founded in 1991 and a subsidiary of LBP AM since July 2023, La Financière de l’Échiquier (LFDE) is one of France’s leading conviction-based asset management companies. LFDE leverages its know-how and high value-added-expertise to offer its institutional, distribution and private clients solutions tailored to their financial and non-financial objectives. LFDE has 27 billion euros under management (consolidated as of 31.12.2023), a team of more than 170 employees and offices in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the Benelux countries.

While the performance of the US stock market has been dominated by a small group of mega cap tech stocks over the last couple of years, Mark Sherlock explains why he believes a change in market leadership is coming. Benefitting from higher domestic exposure to a robust underlying economy, valuation metrics at multi-year lows and strong anticipated earnings growth over the coming quarters, the set up for US SMID looks compelling. The underlying structural attractions of the asset class – including its relative lack of sell side coverage – now combine with the cyclical forces which we believe will propel the index meaningfully higher. 

Workshop Objective: 
Join us to understand why Listed Infrastructure offers: 

•    Growth from exposure to the mega themes in decarbonisation, digitisation and deglobalisation.
•    A consistent compounding real income source.
•    Reduced portfolio correlation risk and enhanced diversification. 

Company Profile: M&G Investments is an international asset manager with an active, long-term investment approach. For over 90 years, the firm has helped its clients prosper by leveraging their capital and understanding their needs. In response to an ever-changing financial environment, M&G has developed a wide range of investment solutions in equities, fixed income, real state and multi-asset. Headquartered in London, M&G employees over 2,300 professionals, covers 28 markets and manages assets in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Switzerland is often hailed as the world’s most innovative economy due to its highly productive native businesses. The country has held its position as the leader of the Global Innovation Index for 13 consecutive years, solidifying its claim to the title for 2023.
This achievement is partly facilitated by a long history of political stability, which laid the foundations for wealth prosperity and an efficient market economy. Swiss standards of living, education and healthcare are among the highest in Europe. 

As the global economy is starting to move beyond stubbornly high inflation, a fresh wave of challenges present themselves. Notably, election uncertainty is sweeping the West and throwing up surprise results. Among equities, a handful of stocks have driven global markets for months, reflecting the explosion of the AI theme within the digital landscape. 
We believe investors should brace for disequilibrium and disruption by anchoring their portfolios in quality companies where revenue sources are spread across multiple regions and currencies, providing investors with global exposure from a secure homebase. We believe Swiss equities offer a unique combination of stability combined with attractive return potential.               

Company Profile: Mirabaud Asset Management is the independent asset management division of the Mirabaud Group focused on active investing across Fixed Income, Equities, Multi-Assets and Private Assets. A common philosophy applies across each of these areas of expertise, which is an active, high conviction approach to generating long term risk adjusted returns. A focus on managing risk and a commitment towards environmental, social and corporate governance principles are important constituents of Mirabaud AM heritage.
The firm operates in Europe’s key financial centres: London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Madrid, Milan and Luxembourg.

European markets have had a lot thrown at them in recent years, including an energy crisis caused by war on the continent, an aggressive interest rate hiking cycle to counter rampant inflation, and a prolonged slowdown in the key Chinese market. Despite all of this, European shares have coped relatively well.
Companies have continued to deliver robust earnings, balance sheets remain in good shape and consumer savings are healthy. Yet the market still trades at a discount compared to global peers. It’s a similar story in the UK. How much longer can investors remain underweight Europe?

Workshop Objective: For investors to leave understanding the case for investing in Europe now.

The Pacific G10 Macro Rates strategy is widely acknowledged to be differentiated from many traditional macro funds and other alternative strategies. This strategy focusses on G10 sovereign bonds and interest rates, meaning the Fund does not invest in equities, credit or emerging markets. The team have developed a longstanding relative-value process which harnesses inefficiencies in the pricing of interest rate products rather than forecasting their direction. For example, playing curve shapes, but also investing in cross currency interest rate strategies and spreads. This is particularly pertinent at times, such as now, when confusion takes hold of financial markets.

With increasing divergence in monetary policy across the G10 countries, coupled with continued volatility in the forward rates markets, the team’s opportunity-set looks greater than ever.

Workshop Objective:
-    G10 Macro Rates versus traditional Macro Investing
-    Relative Value Investing: Pricing Anomalies & Mean Reversion 
-    Diversification & Uncorrelated Returns 
-    Discuss Market Environment

Company Profile: Pacific Asset Management (PAM) is an independent asset manager responsible for more than $7.0bn of assets. Fresh and progressive, PAM is rethinking the conventions of how asset management works. Its single manager business focuses on differentiated investment strategies investing in less efficient markets, where it believes active managers can outperform. Alongside the G10 Macro Rates Strategy, Pacific also offers specialist IG Credit, Emerging Market Equity and Developed Market Equity solutions. 

The ongoing resilience of the U.S. economy has increased the potential for U.S. smaller companies, that have borne the brunt of heightened risk aversion in recent years and are now trading at an historically wide relative valuation discount. Consumer spending trends, onshoring of U.S. industry, and potential pricing power are just some of the factors supporting a positive outlook for U.S. smaller companies. These smaller company stocks have historically traded at a premium to large caps, reflecting their higher relative risk/return profile. In recent years, however, this valuation trend has reversed—small cap stocks are not only trading at a discount to their larger counterparts, but the differential has become extreme, widening to levels not seen in decades.

Workshop Objective:

To understand the market environment for US smaller companies in the following months 
Uncover the sectors and companies where we will see opportunities.
Learn more about T. Rowe Price Funds SICAV—U.S. Smaller Companies Equity Fund