High conviction investing
Hitting the mark
Hold your ground
The normalisation of monetary policy, Brexit and the uncertainties around the US/China trade war will require active fund managers to be able to ride out the unpredictable environment that lies ahead in 2019.
However, these conditions also create opportunities for investors with strong convictions. Armed with new ideas and the strength of character to stick to them, it is possible to build robust portfolios.
In the first quarter of this year, Swiss asset manager Vontobel, in association with Citywire, invited investors from across Europe to join managers from their equity and bond groups, TwentyFour Asset Management and Quality Growth Boutique, to share their views on investing with conviction.
From reading the recession signals to analysing new data sources and overcoming emotional bias, this supplement provides practical insight from industry leaders on sticking to a high conviction strategy in an uncertain world.
The Roundtable
The Chapters
Why high conviction need not mean high risk
With index huggers coming under greater scrutiny, investors are proving more willing to pay up for alpha. But should they expect to take on more risk as result? Fund managers and investors debate the merits of a high conviction approach in the current environment
Recession or dip? How to prepare portfolios with conviction
With the Fed pausing on its rate hike path and recession indicators proving unreliable, trusted data sources are giving mixed messages. Investors and fund managers discuss how a high conviction approach can help portfolios find a way through the noise
The dos & don’ts of gearing up for a recession
Whether you’re convinced that a recession is imminent or you’re more sanguine about the economy, it pays to be be prepared for a downturn, particularly since no one can have perfect foresight. Here are the dos and don’ts of gearing up for a potential recession
Know your facts! Why a little research goes a long way
Gaining access to the right data has become an important part of fulfilling your fiduciary duty. How can fund managers reach clear conclusions and avoid the pitfalls of the echo chamber?
Navigating the information trail
The information trail remains daunting for asset managers. Company reports and announcements are one option, providing insights into more than 100,000 firms globally. Then there are tens of thousands of funds and ETFs to track, macroeconomic indicators to parse and political risks to monitor.
‘As long as we invest in strategies that we can understand, know the risks and can explain them, it becomes much easier for the client to understand as well’
– Ziad Abou Gergi
Picture Gallery
The Panellists
Matthew Benkendorf
Chief Investment Officer, Quality Growth Boutique, Vontobel
Matthew Benkendorf is chief investment officer of Vontobel’s Quality Growth Boutique. He is lead portfolio manager of Vontobel’s Global Equity fund, US Equity fund and Emerging Markets Equity fund. He joined Vontobel Asset Management in October 1999 in trade support. After being promoted to trader in 2000, he became a research analyst in 2002 and moved into portfolio management in 2006 as co-portfolio manager of Vontobel’s European Equity Strategy. In 2008, he continued to grow in his portfolio management role, becoming lead portfolio manager of European Equity and co-portfolio manager of Global Equity. In 2010, he became co-portfolio manager of the Vontobel US Equity Strategy, ultimately becoming lead portfolio manager in 2012. As a co-architect of Vontobel’s quality growth philosophy and having achieved proven success in managing Vontobel’s strategies, he was named chief investment officer of the Quality Growth Boutique in March 2016.
Mark Holman
Partner, Portfolio Manager and CEO, TwentyFour Asset Management
Mark Holman is one of the founding partners of TwentyFour Asset Management and serves as the firm’s chief executive officer. He sits on the firm’s executive committee, which has overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the firm, as well as the board of directors, which sets the overall strategy and direction of the business. Day-to-day, Holman is a key member of the firm’s strategic income team and a member of the firm’s investment committee. He has 29 years of experience in fixed income markets, gained across a variety of senior roles in asset management and investment banking, including positions at Barclays Capital, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley.
Ziad Abou Gergi
Portfolio Manager, multi-management, Barclays
Ziad Abou Gergi is responsible for selecting and managing long-only US equity funds and mandates at Barclays Investment Solutions. He also heads the alternatives selection team. He joined Barclays in 2005, initially working as an equity buy-side analyst in Paris. He moved to Barclays’ London office in 2011 to join Barclays Wealth & Investment Management’s multi-manager team covering various equity markets. In addition to his CFA charter, he holds master’s degrees in economics and management from Saint Joseph University in Beirut and SKEMA Business School in Paris respectively.
Andrew Harradine
Head of long-only manager research, EFG Asset Management
Andrew Harradine joined EFG AM in December 2010 as head of long-only fund selection. Prior to this, he spent 14 years at Russell Investments as head of European research, focusing on manager research. During his tenure, he led the European equity manager research team and was responsible for manager selection. He also worked closely with large pension funds providing advice on manager selection. He earned a BComm from the University of Edinburgh and holds the ASIP qualification.
Alberto García-Cabo Fernández
Fund Analyst, Inversis Gestión
Alberto García-Cabo Fernández has been a fund selector at Inversis Gestión since 2016. He is responsible for the selection of equity strategies in developed markets. He holds a master’s degree in stock exchanges and financial markets from the Instituto de Estudios Bursátiles and he studied business administration at the University of Oviedo.
Ulrich Voss
Head of Capital Markets, Tresono Family Office
Ulrich Voss joined Tresono Family Office in May 2017 to lead the capital markets unit. He has studied international finance in Germany, the US and South Korea. After finishing his thesis dealing with the insertion of hedge funds into insurance portfolios in co-operation with Absolut Research, he started his professional career with Flossbach von Storch in Cologne. In 2009, he joined Black Horse Investments to help set up an investment process and take care of manager selection, asset allocation and research. In his eight-year tenure, he met and interviewed hundreds of the best minds in the investment industry in Europe, the US and Asia. He has been working with ultra-high- net-worth clients and family offices for the past 14 years and knows the various requirements and specific challenges in this area. He is an enthusiastic researcher, stockpicker and networker.
Peter Mclean
Director, Investment Strategy and Research, Stonehage Fleming
Peter McLean is a director in the investment strategy and research team at Stonehage Fleming Investment Management. His main focus is top-down investment research across asset classes and markets, as part of the strategic and tactical asset allocation framework. He began his career at Hargreaves Lansdown in Bristol and joined Stonehage Fleming in 2010 as a member of the wealth planning team, transferring to investment management in 2014. He holds a degree in international business economics from the University of the West of England and the CII’s Diploma in Financial Planning. He has also completed the IMC and is a CFA charterholder.