AGF Global Equity Strategy

Approach
Fundamental, bottom-up investment approach.
Cap
All Cap
Benchmark
MSCI All Country World Index
Inception Date
May 1995
Resources

Key Reasons to Invest

1

A diversified global equity strategy that invests in attractively priced quality companies

2

Experienced, disciplined team with long-tenured leadership since inception

3

Fundamental research focused on strong management and fair value, historical financial analysis and distinct competitive advantage

Overview

Strategy

The AGF Global Equity Strategy is designed for institutional investors seeking global diversification through targeted exposure to growth-oriented companies around the world. The strategy’s objective is to emphasize countries with attractive valuations, growth/sentiment and risk profiles with a core investment style and a fundamental, bottom-up investment approach. Risk management is embedded throughout portfolio management.

Philosophy

We believe combined focus on corporate economic profit (EVA) growth and country allocation drives long-term returns while controlling risk. We seek companies that can generate returns in excess of their cost of capital, thereby creating shareholder value. We emphasize countries with attractive value, growth/sentiment and risk profiles.

Process

Our investment process is based on the concept of Economic Value Added (EVA), which focuses on finding companies that, over time, will exhibit characteristics such as strong/growing cash flow generation, sales, margins and/or asset utilization.

Our process is underpinned by fundamental stock selection and aided by our disciplined country allocation framework. The global universe contains 49 countries. Political and liquidity screens eliminate a number of countries. The resulting country universe, representing more than 90% of MSCI All Country World Index by market capitalization, is then scored and ranked for valuations, growth/sentiment and risk. A minimum market cap screen of US$1.5 billion is applied in the security screening process. The remaining universe is then ranked based on historical and prospective valuation, growth and sentiment characteristics. Companies that are in the top six deciles in this analysis are included in the next screening.

Subsequent EVA analysis reduces the universe to the ‘watchlist’. Selected names are reviewed using in-depth fundamental analysis to uncover companies with strong businesses and management, unrecognized growth potential and attractive valuations. The portfolio manager imposes disciplined controls at the country, sector, company and portfolio level.

Investment Process

UNIVERSE
  • 49 countries
  • 1. Country Allocation Framework
    • Screen: Liquidity; Political Risk
    • Rank: Valuation, Growth/Sentiment, Risk
    • 29 countries (10 EM, 19 Developed)
    • Universe: 4,000 – 5,000 companies
  • 2. Initial Analysis and Filter
    • Screen: Liquidity (min. mkt. cap of US$1.5B)
    • Rank: Attractive Valuation; Growth/Sentiment
    • Universe: 1,500 – 2,000 companies
  • 3. EVA Analysis
    • Ability to generate future economic profits driven by historical value creation and/or business transformation
    • Universe: reduced to a watchlist of 600 – 800 companies
  • 4. Fundamental Research
    • Strong management and fair value
    • Distinct competitive advantage
    • Historical financial analysis
    • ESG analysis
  • 5. Disciplined and Diversified
    • Country: Minimum level of exposure to key markets
    • Sector: 8 of 11 GICS sectors, +/- 15% of index
    • Company: Maximum 6%
Portfolio
  • 60 – 100 names
*Control – Risk Management factors considered include: Country, Sector, Company and Portfolio levels. ¹Refers only to the investment selection process and not to outcomes or results.

Investment Team