GAM Star Continental European Equity

GAM Star Continental European Equity invests in large companies, with the team preferring those they believe will grow faster than the index. The team looks to buy stocks at the point where they are either out-of-favour or where growth prospects are believed not to be fully reflected in the share price. The fund has a low turnover and is not constrained to an index.

Quick Access

Our Opinion

Niall Gallagher’s pragmatic approach and vast experience in European equities stands him in good stead for managing this fund. The depth of analysis assures investors that due diligence has been performed on investments. Niall and the team also exhibit excellent patience in their process and conviction in their decisions, supported by a standout risk-based portfolio construction process.

Fund Managers

Expand

Fund Managers

Close

Before joining GAM Investments in November 2009, Niall managed Continental and pan-European equities at T. Rowe Price for two years. He previously spent nine years at BlackRock, overseeing Continental and pan-European equity strategies. Niall began his career as an economist at the Bank of England. He holds a BA in Economics from Manchester Metropolitan University, an MSc in Economics and Finance from Warwick University, and is a CFA charterholder. He is based in London.

Manager photo

Before joining GAM Investments in May 2014, Christopher was with Morgan Stanley’s Equity Research department, where he began his career as an analyst in 2010. He holds a BA in Classics from the University of Oxford and is based in London.

Manager photo

Chris Legg, an Investment Manager at GAM Investments, specializes in industrials, autos, and resources sector research as a member of the European Equity team. He joined GAM in May 2017, bringing experience from roles at AC Limited (Dubai), PIMCO (London), Nevsky Capital (London), and Credit Suisse (London). Chris began his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where he earned his ACA qualification. He holds an MSci (Hons) in Mathematics from Bristol University and is based in London.

Before joining GAM Investments in November 2009, Niall managed Continental and pan-European equities at T. Rowe Price for two years. He previously spent nine years at BlackRock, overseeing Continental and pan-European equity strategies. Niall began his career as an economist at the Bank of England. He holds a BA in Economics from Manchester Metropolitan University, an MSc in Economics and Finance from Warwick University, and is a CFA charterholder. He is based in London.

Read More

Before joining GAM Investments in May 2014, Christopher was with Morgan Stanley’s Equity Research department, where he began his career as an analyst in 2010. He holds a BA in Classics from the University of Oxford and is based in London.

Read More

Chris Legg, an Investment Manager at GAM Investments, specializes in industrials, autos, and resources sector research as a member of the European Equity team. He joined GAM in May 2017, bringing experience from roles at AC Limited (Dubai), PIMCO (London), Nevsky Capital (London), and Credit Suisse (London). Chris began his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where he earned his ACA qualification. He holds an MSci (Hons) in Mathematics from Bristol University and is based in London.

Read More

Quote from the Fund Manager

For the record, my being Irish is not why we are so heavily overweight the index in Ireland. These stocks met our criteria of being well-managed and having low debt levels – perhaps a reflection of being domiciled in God’s own country.

Niall Gallagher

Co-Manager

Investment process

Niall looks for three types of companies: those disrupting industries; those dominating their industries; and those with deluxe goods and services. Meetings with company management are a key source of ideas for the fund, whether that be management of the company itself, or of the supply chain that it is involved in. With these ideas, Niall and his specialist analysts will perform detailed analysis on the finances, industry, business and suppliers to identify what will drive the value creation in the stock. The result is an unconstrained portfolio of 30-50 stocks.

Risk

The volatility of GAM Star Continental European Equity is slightly below the sector average, due to a bias towards larger companies. However, due to the unconstrained and concentrated nature of the portfolio, the manager may deviate from the benchmark, which can increase risk. Investors should also be aware of the currency risk.

ESG

ESG - Integrated  

ESG is integrated within this fund’s process as part of the comprehensive bottom-up stock analysis. There is a framework form incorporating specific factors which the manager follows, informed by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Materiality Map. This identifies sustainability issues that are most likely to create a financial impact on the company’s operations, and whether this will have an impact on the future share price. A lot of this work will be incorporated into determining the cost of equity for the company, to give a full understanding of the potential cost to the company and the impact on the stock’s valuation. The result of this work is displayed prominently on the front of the investment template for any stock. The fund may not exclude all companies that investors may consider ‘ESG negative’, however. The analysis is done on a case-by-case basis and determines whether the ESG issues are material, whether they will have an impact on the firm, and whether the firm is looking to improve on any issues.

The information, data, analyses, and opinions contained herein (1) include the proprietary information of FundCalibre, (2) may not be copied or redistributed without prior permission, (3) do not constitute investment advice offered by FundCalibre, (4) are provided solely for informational purposes and therefore are not an offer to buy or sell a fund, and (5) are not warranted to be correct, complete, or accurate. FundCalibre shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from, or related to, this information, data, analyses, or opinions or their use. The Elite Fund rating is subjective in nature and reflects FundCalibre’s current expectations of future events/behaviour as they relate to a particular fund. Because such events/behaviour may turn out to be different than expected, FundCalibre does not guarantee that a fund will perform in line with its FundCalibre benchmark. Likewise, the Elite Fund rating should not be seen as any sort of guarantee or assessment of the creditworthiness of a fund nor of its underlying securities and should not be used as the sole basis for making any investment decision. FundCalibre disclaims any responsibility for trading decisions, damages or other losses resulting from any use of the Elite Fund rating. All performance data, as well as fund size, OCF, AMC, annual income (historic), share price discount or premium, is sourced directly from FE Analytics, and will change periodically.