Jupiter Financial Opportunities
Jupiter Financial Opportunities' manager Guy de Blonay uses all of his experience and knowledge to build a concentrated portfolio of ideas from financial services and associated firms from across the globe. This will include areas such as stock exchanges and online payment companies. He prefers businesses with sustainable growth characteristics and identifies these with a thematic approach, which looks at the wider trends driving the economy, and the impact these have on the financial services sector.
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Guy joined Jupiter in 1995 and is a fund manager in the Global team, overseeing the Jupiter Financial Opportunities Fund, Jupiter International Financials Fund, and Jupiter Financial Innovation Fund. In 2001, he moved to New Star, which was later acquired by Henderson, where he managed global financial equities. Guy returned to Jupiter in January 2010, initially in an advisory role, before resuming fund management responsibilities in June 2010.
Guy joined Jupiter in 1995 and is a fund manager in the Global team, overseeing the Jupiter Financial Opportunities Fund, Jupiter International Financials Fund, and Jupiter Financial Innovation Fund. In 2001, he moved to New Star, which was later acquired by Henderson, where he managed global financial equities. Guy returned to Jupiter in January 2010, initially in an advisory role, before resuming fund management responsibilities in June 2010.
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Company Description
Founded in 1985, Jupiter Asset Management has grown from a specialist investment boutique to a global fund management company. It provides a range of financial services and products from bond and equity funds to multi-asset strategies for both retail and institutional clients. Jupiter is a strong proponent of active management and therefore gives its managers the freedom to run their funds their way, without having to adhere to a 'house' view. In July 2020, Jupiter completed its acquisition of Merian Global Investors.
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Investment process
In order to capture the multiple sensitivities of the sector, Guy will use a combination of different factors to build his portfolio. He will look at the economic backdrop as a whole, as well as studying the companies themselves. On top of this, he will identify themes which will help guide the portfolio composition. Current themes include digitalisation, payment solutions, data analytics, security and the millennial/gen Z wealth transfer. This analysis helps Guy cut through the traditional sector divisions of the financial world and find the ideas with the best potential.
For the company analysis, Guy looks for those that have financial strength of their own, are able to grow organically and sustainably, but which are still at a reasonable valuation. He will determine the value of a company based on how strong its competitive advantage is, how well it generates cash flow and whether it is creating profits at a higher rate than it costs to generate capital. Secondly, he will look at the sustainability of the business model: whether the company’s products can continue to exhibit growth, whether the company fills a niche or has a market-leading offering, and whether the company’s management team is able to execute the strategy well. Considering the rarity of this combination, Guy is not afraid to back his stocks with high conviction when he finds them.
Risk
Overall oversight is provided by a Chief Risk Officer, who is supported by various teams. A portfolio analytics team also provides comprehensive analysis covering all areas of portfolio risk on a monthly basis, which is designed to ensure that all risk factors are known to both the portfolio management team (Guy included) and the risk team. This allows them to highlight and inform on areas of concern. Being focused in one market segment does increase risk, though Guy tries to manage this through finding long-term themes that will drive his stocks.
ESG
ESG - Integrated
This fund has a two-fold approach with regards to ESG, which is fully integrated into the process. It is led by Guy and his analysts, with support from Jupiter’s internal governance and sustainability team. Their work will be complemented with multiple third-party sources to complete the picture. The first part of the approach is to identify ESG risks. This includes broad topics like a firm’s carbon footprint, but also sector specific issues such as compliance with regulations and anti-trust laws, consumer data policies and workforce training. There is also a particular strong need to fully understand governance risk in the financial sector. Secondly, Guy aims to identify ESG-related opportunities. Many of the companies in the investable universe promote financial inclusion, which has been recognised by the UN as a one of its sustainable development goals for the next decade. As such, those helping to promote this are looked upon favourably by Guy. The fund has no strict exclusion criteria, though it often stays away from companies where there is a history of controversy and/or questions around its business practices and ethics.
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