TB Evenlode Global Income fund aims to emulate the success of the TB Evenlode Income fund, while benefiting from a wider global remit. Managers Ben Peters and Chris Elliott believe the market fundamentally underestimates the value of high quality businesses because of its obsession with short term events. This fund aims to balance the income received today with future dividend growth.
Our opinion
TB Evenlode Global Income has a clear investment philosophy and a process that has proven to be very successful with TB Evenlode Income. We believe this success can be replicated in a wider global mandate. Since its launch in November 2017, performance has been strong. The managers are not afraid to be radically different from their benchmark, which we applaud, along with their long-term focus. We also like fund’s objective to grow the dividend in the future.
Company description
Evenlode Investments is an independent, equity-focused investment firm, based in rural Oxfordshire. The firm defines both its investment and its business philosophy as long term. It builds lasting relationships with its clients and invests alongside them. The team focus on investing only in quality companies and make a point of knowing their holdings inside out. In 2017, Ben Peters was made CEO of Evenlode Investments, which is part of the Wise Group.
Fund manager
Lead manager Ben Peters has an MSc in Theoretical Physics from Imperial College London, as well as a Doctorate of Philosophy in Nano Electronics from the University of Oxford. Ben was appointed to the board of Evenlode's parent company, Wise Group, in 2012, and became chief executive in 2015. When the group restructured in 2017, he also became chief executive of Evenlode Investments and retained his oversight role at group level. Ben is supported by co-manager Chris Elliott, who joined Evenlode Investments in 2015. Prior to this, he spent five years working as a senior software engineer at Oxford University Press following his graduation from Cambridge University with a Maths and Economics degree.
As a keen cyclist, going at a steady pace can produce the best results. By consistently applying our investment process through time, we hope to avoid short run burnout for longer term gain.
Ben PetersFund manager
Investment process
The investment team take a long term approach, focusing on quality, cash-generative businesses. The team defines quality companies as those with three characteristics: asset-light business models; high barriers to entry which can’t be disrupted easily; finally, their customers’ decision to buy their product or service should not be determined completely by price.
These strict criteria lead to an investable universe of around 100 global companies. The team then selects stocks for the portfolio based on valuation and dividend yield. They will also assess potential business risks.
ESG
ESG - Integrated As part of the investment process, Evenlode looks at a range of ESG risks and opportunities that have the ability to affect a company’s profitability and long-term competitiveness, and also have the potential to create a positive impact in the economy and society more broadly. The managers believe that several environmental and social risks have evolved into long-term business risks.
So as part of their ESG analysis and engagement they analyse companies’ impacts surrounding several environmental issues including climate change, biodiversity, deforestation and plastic pollution, regularly monitoring companies’ emissions and climate targets. They also look at social issues surrounding companies’ operations, supply chain and products and services. Understanding the materiality of these specific ESG factors for a given company plays an important role in how they integrate ESG into their investment process. These considerations contribute to both the initial selection of potential investments, and the ongoing engagement activities they have with portfolio holdings.
Risk
The portfolio is highly concentrated with 30 to 45 stocks. However, these holdings will usually have large diverse international revenue streams. The TB Evenlode Global Income fund typically favours more defensive sectors like consumer staples or healthcare. It tends to avoid cyclical sectors, such as financials, basic materials and energy. The managers aim to generate returns with less volatility than their peers.
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