Citywire Scotland Retreat 2024

The abrdn Global Infrastructure Equity Fund, managed by Josh Duitz, exemplifies diversity in its truest form, spanning various regions and sectors, marking it as a genuinely global portfolio. With distinctive features it not only sets the fund apart but also ensures the generation of stable and predictable long-term cash flows. Josh has been managing the US strategy for 15 years, which has consistently outperformed the market, so this makes it an attractive proposition for your clients today

Workshop Objectives:

1.    Learn about why investors should consider diversifying into Global Infrastructure.
2.    Overview of abrdn’ s successful approach to infrastructure investing.

As growth investors have been primarily focused on the US in recent years, it's time to explore growth opportunities closer to home. In this presentation, portfolio manager Darina Valkova will outline her investment strategy that seeks to benefit from the compounding power of owning shares in structurally growing, high-quality companies over the long term. With years of experience, the strategy has recently been relaunched at AllianceBernstein. Darina will explain how her team looks for visibility in companies’ long-term earnings and cash flow growth, supported by sustainable competitive advantages and high barriers to entry. The presentation will highlight a focused and disciplined approach to investing in high-quality companies for long-term growth.

Workshop Objective: Delegates will hear about growth opportunities in European companies. They will learn how this team find and invest in structurally growing, high quality companies, a process honed over many years.

Company Profile: AllianceBernstein is a leading investment-management firm with $759 billion in client assets under management, as of 30 March 2024. With a unique combination of expertise across equities, fixed-income, alternatives and multi-asset strategies, we aim to deliver differentiated insights and distinctive solutions to advance investors’ success. Across our global network, we’re fully invested in delivering better outcomes for our worldwide clients, including institutional, high-net-worth and retail investors. By embracing innovation, we seek to address increasingly complex investing challenges and opportunities. And we pursue responsibility at all levels of the firm—from how we work and act to the solutions we design for clients.

The US is in the midst of a soft landing, with inflation (although stubborn) tracking towards the Federal Reserve’s target. In combination with this supportive macro backdrop, we are also seeing a wave of investment across a variety of sectors by both public and private bodies. Add in an upcoming election and what we have is a unique and interesting mix of value opportunities and risks that should allow those market participants who are selective in their exposures to benefit. Join Cormac Weldon of Artemis, who will provide an insight into how the Artemis US Select and Artemis US Smaller Companies Funds are playing this dynamic. 

Workshop Objective: Provide an insight into how the Artemis US Select and Artemis US Smaller Companies Funds are playing this dynamic. 

Company Profile: Artemis is a leading UK-based fund manager, offering a range of funds which invest in the UK, Europe, the US and around the world. As a dedicated, active investment house, we specialise in investment management for both retail and institutional investors.

Positive Change is a global equity impact fund. Since its launch in 2017, we have experienced a global pandemic, increased geopolitical tensions and a significant change in the macroeconomic environment. There are paradigm shifts in financial markets and in sustainable development. Join us as we discuss the role of impact investing within this shifting world and the opportunities that driving real world change can bring.

Workshop Objectives:

To explore;

• How will the deep transition towards a more sustainable society touch every part of the economy?
• How can attractive investment returns and a positive impact go hand in hand?
• How can we evidence positive change?

Change is normal in the global economy. But what makes this current point in history unique is that we are facing several era-defining shifts happening at the same time: from transformative developments across artificial intelligence, healthcare and green energy, to elevated geopolitical and economic volatility. From an investment perspective, it is key to find strategies that can evolve in the same way, with flexibility to capitalise on new opportunities. Capital Group’s New Perspective strategy has been investing in change for over 50 years, looking to identify companies that we believe will drive or benefit from transformational changes in the global economy, using deep bottom-up research.

Workshop Objective: To understand how a structurally flexible, bottom-up approach to investing in global equities can help achieve consistent returns over the long term.

The US domestic economy is set to benefit from unique tailwinds over the next few years: infrastructure spend, reshoring, pent-up demand for housing and improving labour force productivity. With a clear domestic focus, US small- and mid-cap companies should be outsized beneficiaries of these trends. 
2023 and early 2024 have seen a narrow market driven by a combination of excitement around the prospects for large cap tech and fears of an economic slowdown. This has created a uniquely attractive entry point into an overlooked asset class which now appears well positioned from both a cyclical and structural perspective.
Henry will lay out the value he sees in the asset class and the way the strategy is positioned to benefit from some of these attractive dynamics.

Workshop Objectives:

•    Learn how we expect US small caps to fare in the year ahead.
•    Discover which sectors may see the strongest growth potential.
•    Gain an insight into where the opportunities lie in US SMID.

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 solutions. 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. 

Portfolio manager Nick Price will take a deep dive into his investment philosophy and approach that underpins the Fidelity Emerging Markets Fund.

Looking at the abundance of opportunities across this diverse asset class, Nick will outline his key areas of conviction and outlook for the emerging market equity universe.

He will explore how in China, the largest market in the emerging market equity universe, his focus is on identifying high-quality companies that are returning capital to shareholders, and will also highlight opportunities in countries like India, which remain strong long-term structural growth stories.

Nick will discuss how this translates into current portfolio positioning, and how his continued emphasis remains on owning well capitalised businesses with under-levered balance sheets and strong corporate governance practices.

Learning objectives:

• Understand the fundamental backdrop facing investors in emerging markets and the stocks and sectors which offer the greatest prospects for returns going forward.
• Discover why an active, disciplined investment approach is critical to navigate current macro complexities.
• Gain an insight into the overlooked opportunities in less well-known parts of this broad investable universe which offer compelling value.

First Trust specialist Gregg Guerin will discuss why we believe the Smart Grid may be a multi-trillion-dollar investment opportunity
between now and 2050 as well as detailing the First Trust AI Framework. This is an investment at the intersection of two of the biggest and most discussed megatrends, AI and the Energy Transition.

The Nasdaq® OMX Clean Edge® Smart Grid Infrastructure Index UCITS ETF has been one of the lower volatility clean energy investments over the last decade and many of its holdings have been implementing AI for years. A modernised grid is essential as renewable energy generation & data centres multiply, all whilst traditional energy demands persist. Gregg will highlight how this strategy can capitalise on upgrading the century-old electricity grid to power our future economy.

Workshop Objectives:
•    Detail the Smart Grid Theme
•    Articulate the Stock Selection & Weighting Methodology
•    Illustrate potential reasons for the theme’s lower volatility than other broad-based clean energy investments

In this session Dave will speak about his views on the asset class including, the fantastic stockpicking market in China, the current difficulties finding investment candidates in India and the interesting ‘value up’ reforms we have seen in Korea. He will touch on his team’s approach to solving the ‘investment problem’ and talk about why a pan-regional approach to investing in Asian equities is key in a world not defined by borders.

Workshop Objectives:

-    In depth look at what is going on in the Chinese equity market from a practitioner’s perspective. Audience to come away understanding opportunities and risks in China
-    Further look at the wider Asia ex Japan asset class with a particular focus on Korea and India. Audience to come away understanding opportunities and risks in wider region
-    Introduction to the M&G APAC team’s differentiated investment process. Audience to come away understanding why a Pan Asian approach is key 

Company Profile: We have a global network of investment teams that connects world-class research capabilities, and the diverse experience and views of experts across multiple asset classes. We think freely, share ideas and new perspectives to inform better decision-making, fuel innovation and identify investment opportunities for our clients.  

We call this Intelligence Connected.

We're part of M&G plc, an international savings and investment business, with the shared purpose to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work.

We offer access to a broad range of capabilities that span both public and private assets, including fixed income, equities, multi-asset, real estate, private credit, infrastructure and private equity.  
Globally we manage over £313bn (as at 31 December 2023) on behalf of individual and professional investors including banks, pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, charities and advisors.

In an age of economic and market uncertainty, we believe investing in companies aligned to powerful secular change can help to mitigate a portfolio’s exposure to the business cycle and market sentiment. Looking through short-term volatility needs to be paired with a disciplined approach to value—“global megatrends” encompasses much more than a handful of artificial-intelligence headline makers. But together, we think these disciplines can support the genuinely high-conviction portfolios required to deliver sustained market outperformance.

Workshop Objectives: To demonstrate the strong returns that can be delivered from a disciplined, high conviction approach underpinned by structural shifts in the global economy.  

Company Profile: Neuberger Berman was founded in 1939 to do one thing: deliver compelling investment results for our clients over the long term. This remains our singular purpose today, driven by a culture rooted in deep fundamental research, the pursuit of investment insight and continuous innovation on behalf of clients, and facilitated by the free exchange of ideas across the organization.
As a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager, Neuberger Berman is structurally aligned with the long-term interests of our clients. We have no external parent or public shareholders to serve, nor other lines of business to distract us from our core mission. And with our employees and their families invested alongside our clients—plus 100% of employee deferred cash compensation directly linked to team and firm strategies—we are truly in this together.

The fund invests in companies that are demonstrating a sufficient level of D&I profile (e.g. upper leadership levels), as well as companies that are actively working to improve their D&I via engagement. D&I are secured by screening the investment universe and identifying companies that comply with the specific thresholds as described in the below section on 'binding measures'. Gender diversity metrics still make up the hard criteria for the investment universe, but other diversity measures such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc. may be considered during the active selection process. Within the defined diversity universe, the investment process combines financial analysis with diversity analysis measuring both absolute and relative terms versus its region and industry peers.

Workshop Objective: To highlight our belief that companies with strong diversity and inclusion practices not only foster a more equitable society but also have the potential to deliver superior returns.

Company Profile: Nordea Asset Management is part of the Nordea Group, the largest financial services group in the Nordic region. NAM offers European and global investors’ exposure to a broad set of investment funds. 

Nordea’s success is based on a sustainable and unique multi-boutique approach that combines the expertise of specialised internal boutiques with exclusive external competences allowing us to deliver alpha in a stable way for the benefit of our clients. NAM solutions cover all asset classes from fixed income and equity to multi asset solutions, and manage local and European as well as US, global and emerging market products.

2024 promises to be a banner year, whether we think of politics, geopolitics or economics, and it’s likely to be a rollercoaster for markets. Nonetheless, the unprecedented tightening cycle over the last two years means that fixed income more broadly, and credit in particular, will remain in the spotlight. The next cycle will likely be characterised by increased uncertainty and hence it’s highly likely volatility will remain elevated from a historical perspective. That said, with yields and breakevens at generational highs, opportunities are plentiful to generate long term equity-like returns in debt instruments. We believe a contrarian and value-driven approach is vital to protecting and appreciating capital in this environment. Markets have evolved, and so now must the way we approach investing in credit and fixed income.

Workshop Objectives:  How to generate equity-like returns with bond-like risk: demonstrating that a contrarian, value-driven and nimble approach to credit investing is needed for better risk-adjusted returns

Company Profile: Pictet Asset Management is a specialist asset manager offering investment solutions and services to investors around the world.
 As at 31 December 2023, we manage  GBP 215 billion of assets across our range of pioneering and differentiating investment capabilities. Our investment resources are focused around our strategic capabilities: Alternatives, Thematics, Emerging Markets and Multi Asset.

Our purpose is to build responsible partnerships with our clients, colleagues, communities and the companies in which we invest. Our clients include some of the world’s largest pension funds, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, intermediaries and their clients.

We are part of the Pictet Group, founded in Geneva in 1805, which also specialises in Wealth Management, Alternative Investments and Asset Services. Privately owned and managed by eight partners, the Pictet Group has more than 5400 employees in 30offices around the world.

Investing in income producing bond funds remains an evergreen strategy due to its ability to provide investors with a steady stream of income regardless of the market environment. This makes it an attractive option for those seeking stability and predictability in their investment portfolios. 

The PIMCO GIS Income Fund is an actively managed portfolio that utilizes a broad range of fixed income securities that seek to produce an attractive level of income while maintaining a relatively low risk profile, with a secondary goal of capital appreciation. 

This makes the fund appealing during all market conditions, particularly for investors seeking income and capital preservation.

Worksho0p Objective: To provide an overview of PIMCO’s macro views and why we think our GIS Income is differentiated in the UK fixed Income market and should be an Evergreen Strategy for your portfolios.

Company Profile: PIMCO is a global leader in active fixed income. With our launch in 1971 in Newport Beach, California, PIMCO introduced investors to a total return approach to fixed income investing. In the 50+ years since, we have worked relentlessly to help millions of investors pursue their objectives – regardless of shifting market conditions. As active investors, our goal is not just to find opportunities, but to create them. To this end, we remain firmly committed to the pursuit of our mission: delivering superior investment returns, solutions and service to our clients.

The benefits of marginal gains have been used in sport for years. Our philosophy is to use marginal gains in the fixed income markets to drive similarly successful outcomes and consistent outperformance. We will describe how portfolio optimisation helps navigate changing market environments.

Workshop Objectives:  We aim to provide a useful insight into current macro trends within the Fixed Income markets and how our process helps us overcome these challenges.

Company Profile: Premier Miton is a genuinely active investment manager offering a range of funds and investment trusts, as well as a portfolio management service, covering equity, fixed income, multi asset and absolute return investment strategies.  

Our clients’ investments with us are actively managed by our different specialist investment teams, who are empowered to employ their own proven and distinctive investment approaches; with the aim of generating good investment outcomes.  In total we are responsible for £10.7bn of client assets under management (as of 31 March 2024), split across 17 differentiated investment teams.

 As investors have continued to ignore the historically low valuation of UK equities, two types of buyers have emerged. The first is overseas corporate buyers and the second is UK companies who are now buying back their own stock at the greatest rate in recent history. This presentation will look at how we believe a combination of dividends and share re-purchases may deliver attractive total returns for investors with potentially minimal risk.

Workshop Objectives:

•    Understand the theory behind share re-purchases.
•    Case studies of firms that have delivered attractive total returns for their investors through share buybacks and dividends.
•    Look at companies that might be poised to do the same today.
 

Company Profile: Redwheel is a specialist, independent investment organisation. Our active investment heritage is built on a foundation of innovation, origination and high conviction. 

Our business was established in 2000 with a simple ambition: to create an environment in which exceptional fund managers can operate in a manner that allows them to maximise the benefits of their skills over the long-term.

We have always remained true to that ambition. Today, we have more than 174 people aligned to that goal, including 57 dedicated investment professionals working across seven independent investment teams.

There are three key attributes that define who we are: 
•    Autonomy
•    Independence 
•    Ownership

The Ugly Duckling is a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale from 1843 about a duck who was born different, he was teased and rejected by the other ducks because he didn’t look like them. No matter how hard he tries to fit in, he just doesn’t feel the same as other ducks. The sad little bird leaves home and is jeered as he struggles to find his place in the world. 
Ruffer’s portfolio today feels a little like The Ugly Duckling, full of deeply unloved, beaten up and lowly valued positions. Many of our assets have already been shunned, jeered, and cast out into the wilderness by investors. But we all know how the fairytale ends...

Workshop Objectives: To provide guests with an explanation as to why the Ruffer portfolio looks different to consensus and an overview of the key positions that we think will drive returns moving forward.

Company Profile: At Ruffer, our aim is to deliver consistent positive returns through an unconstrained approach, regardless of how financial markets perform. We seek to achieve this by maintaining an offsetting balance of growth and protective assets and have achieved a long, successful track record of protecting and growing the value of our clients’ assets. Our approach has been successful through periods of market fragility including the bursting of the dot.com bubble, the credit crisis and covid-19. We aim to continue this success, whatever the future holds. 

Since its inception in 2000, QEP Global Core has delivered a very cost-effective means of maximising longer-term returns in a highly risk managed structure that has performed well across a range of market environments. 
Looking ahead, QEP continue to believe an active approach remains paramount. Our key observation is that the wide dispersion of valuations across the market at present, caused by extremely narrow breadth during 2023, has set the stage for bottom-up rather than top-down calls. It seems less likely that beta will drive returns, meaning that alpha generation will be even more important going ahead which should benefit active managers. Given our diversified approach, this suits the team’s philosophy well and our focus will primarily be on high quality stocks that are well suited to navigate economic uncertainty.
As such, this strategy continues to offer a compelling alternative for clients who either have an exposure to concentrated global strategies or those who have a significant passive exposure and are looking for complimentary options. In summary, the QEP Global Core approach represents the sweet spot in offering an attractive and affordable trade-off between risk and return.

Workshop Objectives:

1.    A hard landing appears to have been averted which has slashed the chances of Fed easing but it hasn’t mattered as earnings growth has been very supportive, not least in the AI champions. The Magnificent-7 are up 104% since start of 2023, the rest of the world 23%. But performance divergence among the index heavyweights is increasing this year (a healthy development). We expect to see heightened dispersion in markets from here and risk management through diversification will be key. 
2.    It has been a stock pickers market but predominantly driven by earnings momentum within higher quality stocks. This will probably continue until earnings start to disappointment but there are few signs of that at present. This will be a better environment for active managers.
3.    Important to remain diversified with a bottom-up focus balancing different flavours of Value and Quality to participate in a broader range of market environments whilst remaining diligent in profit taking across “hot” positions, particularly if volatility picks up. The opportunity set in “Quality at a reasonable price” is unusually good as the average stock has been left behind. 

The T. Rowe Price Global Select Strategy is a global style-balanced, concentrated portfolio with a focus on high quality, industry-leading companies that we believe can perform well in any market.  
 
•    T. Rowe Price Research Platform – we believe our expansive global research capabilities can assist us in uncovering anomalies across the style spectrum. 
•    Investment Approach – we seek to build a global portfolio diversified across style, market cap, sectors and regions to deliver alpha irrespective of market cycles/leadership. This is a high active share portfolio that emphasizes bottom-up stock picking and seeks to minimize excessive factor bets. 
•    Performance – a style-agnostic portfolio that has historically delivered alpha across style leadership changes
•    Current positioning across the style spectrum

Workshop Objective: Understand how we have constructed a ‘no excuses’ portfolio with uncorrelated alpha, driven by stock selection not factors.

Company Profile: T. Rowe Price was founded in 1937 by Thomas Rowe Price, Jr. and is an independent, listed asset manager. Our focus is on delivering long-term performance for our global clients across a broad range of active equity and bond strategies.

Our long-term success is due to a strong research-oriented culture, which helps us to identify the most promising investments around the world. We are a global company with offices in 17 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Our assets under management of USD 1,399.4 billion are spread across a wide range of investment strategies.

We employ 7,903 people worldwide, including 935 investment professionals including 403 research professionals. Our business strategy is focused on delivering strong long-term performance. This is assisted by our considerable organisational and financial stability and experience in all types of market conditions.