159. The potential of Pinterest
Maneesh Bajaj, manager of the Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity fund, gives his on the ground perspective of how the US economy is recovering from the pandemic and how companies may do in 2022. He talks about long-term holdings Visa and MasterCard and outlines the investment case for Pinterest. Maneesh also tells us how Netflix’s ‘Seaspiracy’ prompted engagement with a frozen fish supplier.
Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity was launched in the UK in 2014, but a parallel version has been managed by the same team for more than 20 years in the United States. The fund has been run by Maneesh Bajaj since 2017. Its strategy is unconstrained, meaning Maneesh is free to select companies from across the market cap spectrum. This has enabled the fund to become of the few to consistently outperform the S&P 500 over long periods of time.
What’s covered in this podcast:
- How the US economy is faring from an ‘on the ground’ perspective and if inflation is a concern [0:20]
- If US company earnings are holding up [4:03]
- Why the fund has held Visa and MasterCard for a decade and the similarities and differences between the two companies [5:30]
- Why the manager likes Pinterest as an investment [8:10]
- How ESG is integrated in the investment process [11:40]
- How the manager and team have engaged with Bed, Bath & Beyond and Nomad – a supplier of frozen fish and vegetables – on ESG matters [13:32]