Specialist in Asia Pacific, Japan, China, India and South East Asia and Global Emerging Market equities.
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Stewart Investors manage investment portfolios on behalf of our clients over the long term and have held shares in some companies for over 20 years. They launched their first investment strategy in 1988.
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We invest for purpose
Markets are constantly moving – and when conditions change investors must rethink their asset allocation.
Our flexible and dynamic approach draws on a global opportunity set to meet the multiple, often competing objectives of our clients. The goal is to tie all investment decisions to the ultimate objective of the portfolio.
Time has shown that asset allocation decisions are the dominant driver of overall portfolio returns and multi-asset investing provides risk and return benefits that are not typically achievable by investing in a single asset class.
Asset allocation when the future ain't what it used to be
Over the past 40 years, strategic asset allocation has successfully relied on diversification alone to deliver strong long-term returns. With the diversification benefits historically delivered by equities and bonds weakening in today’s markets, and expected returns across all asset classes falling lower, portfolios need to adapt to deliver on their objectives.
Do not expect the same dynamics going forward
Equities valuations have only been higher twice before in the last 100 years, in 2000 and 1929. Based on these valuations, history indicates that expected returns over the next 5 to 10 years will be much lower.
Source: Robert Shiller, Yale University, data to 31 December 2022. Price-Earnings Ratio (LHS) is the measure of US equity valuation based on the cyclically adjusted price-earnings ratio, or CAPE (Shiller PE). Long-Term Interest Rates (RHS) is the 10 year US Treasury yields, or equivalent long term rate.
The market expects returns to fall across all major asset classes over the next 5 years
Source: Bloomberg and First Sentier Investors as at 31 December 2022. Returns are in local currency except where specified. Past returns are from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022. The expected returns for the period of 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2027, based on internal proprietary models, are predictive in nature and therefore not guaranteed to occur. Known or unknown risks and uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions may result in them differing materially from results ultimately achieved.
Where does a real return strategy fit within a broader portfolio?
Investing in an objective-based multi-asset strategy with flexible investment ranges free your manager to deliver more consistent returns with less risk, but how can a fund that moves in - and out - of asset classes fit within your broader asset allocation?
Here are three ways an objectives-based fund can be used in your portfolio:
Growth diversifier
An objective-based strategy can be added to the equities segment of your portfolio with the aim of delivering 'equity-like' returns with lower volatility.
An alternative
An objective-based strategy could fall into the 'growth alternatives', 'defensive alternatives', or 'absolute return' categories, depending on the fund.
Core or whole portfolio solution
Use your objective-based strategy as a one-stop-shop for delivering on an overall portfolio objective - including outsourcing of asset allocation and governance.
Disclaimer: Reference to specific securities (if any) is included for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell the same. All securities mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of First Sentier Investors’ portfolios at a certain point in time, and the holdings may change over time.
Meet the Multi-Asset Solutions team
Epco van der Lende
Kej Somaia
Jan Baars
Andrew Harman
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