Liontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth

Liontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth fund invests in the shares of a broad range of companies from around the world, based on the fund manager's view of their long term return prospects. The fund uses a thematic approach to identify the key structural growth trends that will shape the global economy of the future across a portfolio of 40-60 stocks.

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Our Opinion

A real alternative for investors in what is a hugely competitive global sector. Liontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth fund has produced excellent returns in the past two decades by sticking to its rigorous approach to sustainability and the strength of company management. The result is an extremely flexible portfolio that can – and has – tapped into a number of emerging sustainable themes to garner strong returns over time.

Fund Managers

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Fund Managers

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Peter Michaelis, Co-Manager Peter Michaelis joined Liontrust in April 2017 following the acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments, where he was Head of Investment. With over 20 years in Sustainable and Responsible Investment, Peter began his career as an Environmental Engineer at the Steel Construction Institute after completing a PhD in Environmental Economics. He then worked at Henderson Global Investors as a Sustainable and Responsible Investment Analyst and Assistant Portfolio Manager. In 2001, he moved to Aviva Investors, eventually becoming Head of Sustainable and Responsible Investment. Peter holds an MA in Physics from Oxford University, an MSc in Energy and Environmental Engineering from the University of Sussex, a PhD in Environmental Economics from the University of Surrey, and the CFA Society of the UK Investment Management Certificate (IMC).

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Simon Clements, Co-Manager Simon Clements joined Liontrust in 2017 following the acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments, where he worked for 5 years. Previously, he spent 12 years at Aviva Investors (formerly Morley Fund Management), where he was Head of Global Equities. Early in his career, Simon worked as a Portfolio Accountant and Risk and Performance Analyst before joining Aviva Investors in 2000 to develop its global equity and SRI propositions. He is the lead manager of the Liontrust SF Global Growth Fund, GF SF Global Growth, and SF Managed Growth Fund, and co-manages the SF Managed, SF Cautious Managed, and SF Defensive Managed funds. Simon holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Newcastle, Australia, a graduate diploma in Applied Finance & Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia, and is a CFA Charterholder.

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Chris Foster, Co-Manager Chris Foster is the co-manager of the Liontrust SF Global Growth Fund, GF SF Global Growth Fund, and SF Managed Growth Fund. He joined Liontrust in April 2017 following its acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments, where he had started through a management training program. Chris graduated with First Class Honours in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh and is a CFA Charterholder.

Peter Michaelis, Co-Manager Peter Michaelis joined Liontrust in April 2017 following the acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments, where he was Head of Investment. With over 20 years in Sustainable and Responsible Investment, Peter began his career as an Environmental Engineer at the Steel Construction Institute after completing a PhD in Environmental Economics. He then worked at Henderson Global Investors as a Sustainable and Responsible Investment Analyst and Assistant Portfolio Manager. In 2001, he moved to Aviva Investors, eventually becoming Head of Sustainable and Responsible Investment. Peter holds an MA in Physics from Oxford University, an MSc in Energy and Environmental Engineering from the University of Sussex, a PhD in Environmental Economics from the University of Surrey, and the CFA Society of the UK Investment Management Certificate (IMC).

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Simon Clements, Co-Manager Simon Clements joined Liontrust in 2017 following the acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments, where he worked for 5 years. Previously, he spent 12 years at Aviva Investors (formerly Morley Fund Management), where he was Head of Global Equities. Early in his career, Simon worked as a Portfolio Accountant and Risk and Performance Analyst before joining Aviva Investors in 2000 to develop its global equity and SRI propositions. He is the lead manager of the Liontrust SF Global Growth Fund, GF SF Global Growth, and SF Managed Growth Fund, and co-manages the SF Managed, SF Cautious Managed, and SF Defensive Managed funds. Simon holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Newcastle, Australia, a graduate diploma in Applied Finance & Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia, and is a CFA Charterholder.

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Chris Foster, Co-Manager Chris Foster is the co-manager of the Liontrust SF Global Growth Fund, GF SF Global Growth Fund, and SF Managed Growth Fund. He joined Liontrust in April 2017 following its acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments, where he had started through a management training program. Chris graduated with First Class Honours in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh and is a CFA Charterholder.

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Quote from the Fund Manager

Change is both non-linear and tends to happen very quickly: once a better, cheaper alternative is found, it displaces the incumbent rapidly.

Peter Michaelis

Co-Manager

Investment process

Every investment in the Sustainable Future fund’s range has to meet four set criteria: thematic drivers, sustainable credentials, good fundamentals and attractive valuation.

The investment process begins with a thematic analysis designed to uncover emerging trends and long-term structural growth themes. These range from the development of personalised medicine to the transition to lower carbon fossil fuels. The team believes many of these outcomes have been delivered by the power of capitalism and the creativity of businesses generating profit growth and investment returns.

Three mega trends have been identified, with strong and dependable growth prospects. These are: better resource efficiency (cleaner), improved health (healthier), and greater safety and resilience (safer). Within these three buckets the team has identified 20 areas of predictable and resilient growth.

The team then undertakes a sustainability analysis for each company and also determines the key environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors that are important indicators of future success. The team then assesses how well these are managed through its proprietary sustainability matrix – which allows the managers to rank a company based on its sustainability processes and the quality of its management.

The third stage covers fundamentals, with the team ensuring the companies it invests in have robust business fundamentals with proven ability to deliver high returns on equity through sustaining margins and asset turnover.

The final stage is valuation. The team likes to integrate its view of quality into these businesses, predicting the likely sales, earnings and other financial returns it expects to see from these companies over the next three to five years.

Risk

Liontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth fund is almost entirely invested in equities (90-100%) but can hold up to 10% in cash. The managers have shown a consistent ability to demonstrate alpha and is has been one of the stronger performers in the IA Global Sector in the past decade. A high conviction portfolio of 40-60 stocks, the fund has been slightly more volatile versus its peers in the sector in recent times.

ESG

ESG - Explicit  

ESG is a primary feature of Liontrust’s investment strategy on this fund and the managers have built sustainability into the stock selection process through three main stages: Thematic analysis, ESG analysis and Company Engagement.

Thematic analysis is the starting point for idea generation and all companies must be aligned with at least one of three themes: better resource efficiency (cleaner), improved health (healthier) and greater safety and resilience (safer), and 21 themes within these. Sustainability analysis assesses the whole company in two dimensions – the set of products or services offered; and the management of ESG exposures relevant to that industry sub-sector. This uses sustainability to identify companies with better growth prospects and higher quality management. The team places great importance on company engagement, believing it gives greater insight into how businesses are run and helps identify leading companies. It can also be used as a lever to encourage better business practices.

Furthermore, every team member is responsible for all aspects of ESG and financial analysis relating to each investment decision.

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.