International Equity Plus Strategy

International Equity Plus Strategy

International Equity Plus Strategy

 
 
Summary

The International Equity Plus Strategy invests in both high quality compounders and value opportunities, primarily in developed markets outside the US. The compounders are characterized by high returns on operating capital employed and strong free cash flow. The value opportunities tend to be more cyclical, with improving or mispriced fundamentals.

The “plus” component of the portfolio consists of high quality compounders in the US, included to increase the portfolio’s quality bias. The overall mix between compounders and value opportunities varies as valuations and prospects change. The strategy seeks to generate superior returns over the long term by providing attractive absolute returns in rising markets and helping to reduce downside participation in challenging markets.

 
 
Investment Approach
Philosophy

The International Equity Plus Strategy looks to generate attractive long-term performance by investing in two types of companies, attractively priced High-Quality Compounders, companies that have the ability to generate sustainably high returns on operating capital employed (ROOCE), and Value Opportunities which tend to be more cyclical companies with reasonable and/or improving fundamentals that are trading at a sufficient margin of safety to compensate for their greater risk. The “plus” component of the Strategy bolsters the portfolio’s quality bias by including select high quality compounders in the US. The team believes that a portfolio consisting of both types of stocks, with the flexibility to adjust the mix dependent on valuation and prospects, has the potential to generate attractive long-term returns for investors and help to reduce downside participation in challenging markets.

The mix between High-Quality Compounders and Value Opportunities is not a top-down allocation and will vary across the market cycle depending on valuation and perceived prospects. However, the Strategy has typically maintained an overweight to quality companies given their potential for long-term compounding and overall contribution to the Strategy's long-term pattern of asymmetric returns.

The team believes that losing money is worse than missing the chance to make it. The team further believes that benchmarks are inherently risky and does not attempt to manage tracking error. Rather than relative risk, the team's primary concern is absolute risk - the permanent loss of capital. In keeping with the team's emphasis on bottom-up stock selection, risk is assessed at the stock level by evaluating company fundamentals, financials, management, price and what could go wrong. The team uses free cash flows over reported earnings to assess valuation.

 
Differentiators
A core international portfolio

Invests in two types of stocks: high quality compounders and value opportunities. The overall mix between the two is based on a company-by-company assessment of each holding’s valuation and prospects.

Built on a foundation of quality

The “plus” component consists of high quality compounders in the US, enhancing the quality bias of the portfolio.

Genuine long-term investors

The investment horizon is years, not months, with a focus on preventing the permanent loss of capital rather than reducing tracking error.

Engaged with companies’ management

Portfolio managers meet with company management to assess their long-term commitment to the business.

 
 
 
 
 

The information presented is how the portfolio management team generally implements its investment process under normal market conditions. 

Source: Morgan Stanley Investment Management. For illustrative purposes only. The diagram represents the general/typical composition of the portfolio. 

 
 
 
 
 
Investment Team  
William Lock
Head of International Equity Team
32 years industry experience
Bruno Paulson
Managing Director
30 years industry experience
Nic Sochovsky
Managing Director
26 years industry experience
Marcus Watson
Managing Director
16 years industry experience
Alex Gabriele
Managing Director
15 years industry experience
Marte Borhaug
Head of ESG
14 years industry experience
Richard Perrott
Executive Director
18 years industry experience
Isabelle Mast
Executive Director
19 years industry experience
 

Team members may be subject to change at any time without notice. The investment team currently has 15 members; information on additional team members can be found on MSIM.com.

 
 
 
 
 

RISK CONSIDERATIONS

There is no assurance that a Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. Portfolios are subject to market risk, which is the possibility that the market values of securities owned by the Portfolio will decline and that the value of Portfolio shares may therefore be less than what you paid for them. Market values can change daily due to economic and other events (e.g. natural disasters, health crises, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) that affect markets, countries, companies or governments. It is difficult to predict the timing, duration, and potential adverse effects (e.g. portfolio liquidity) of events. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Please be aware that this Portfolio may be subject to certain additional risks. In general, equities securities’ values also fluctuate in response to activities specific to a company. Investments in foreign markets entail special risks such as currency, political, economic, market and liquidity risks. The risks of investing in emerging market countries are greater than risks associated with investments in foreign developed countries. Stocks of small- and medium capitalization companies entail special risks, such as limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and greater market volatility than securities of larger, more established companies. Non-diversified portfolios often invest in a more limited number of issuers. As such, changes in the financial condition or market value of a single issuer may cause greater volatility. Derivative instruments may proportionately increase losses and have a significant impact on performance. They also may be subject to counterparty, liquidity, valuation, correlation and market risks. Illiquid securities may be more difficult to sell and value than publicly traded securities (liquidity risk). Privately placed and restricted securities may be subject to resale restrictions as well as a lack of publicly available information, which will increase their illiquidity and could adversely affect the ability to value and sell them (liquidity risk). ESG strategies that incorporate impact investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. As a result, there is no assurance ESG strategies could result in more favorable investment performance.

This communication is only intended for and will be only distributed to persons resident in jurisdictions where such distribution or availability would not be contrary to local laws or regulations.

There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will work under all market conditions, and each investor should evaluate their ability to invest for the long-term, especially during periods of downturn in the market. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

A separately managed account may not be appropriate for all investors. Separate accounts managed according to the Strategy include a number of securities and will not necessarily track the performance of any index. Please consider the investment objectives, risks and fees of the Strategy carefully before investing. A minimum asset level is required. For important information about the investment manager, please refer to Form ADV Part 2.

Any views and opinions provided are those of the portfolio management team and are subject to change at any time due to market or economic conditions and may not necessarily come to pass. Furthermore, the views will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available or circumstances existing, or changes occurring. The views expressed do not reflect the opinions of all portfolio managers at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) or the views of the firm as a whole, and may not be reflected in all the strategies and products that the Firm offers.

All information, which is not impartial, is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be deemed as a recommendation. The information herein has not been based on a consideration of any individual investor circumstances and is not investment advice, nor should it be construed in any way as tax, accounting, legal or regulatory advice. To that end, investors should seek independent legal and financial advice, including advice as to tax consequences, before making any investment decision.

DEFINITIONS

A portfolio with a high degree of active share does not assure a fund’s relative outperformance. Discounted cash flow (DCF) is a valuation method that is used to evaluate investment potential by using future free cash flow projections and discounting them to arrive at a present value. Earnings per share (EPS) is the portion of a company’s profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. Earnings per share (EPS) growth is the weighted average of earnings per share growth for all securities in the portfolio projected for the past five fiscal years. Earnings per share for a company is defined as total earnings divided by shares outstanding. Free cash flow (FCF) is operating cash flows (net income plus amortization and depreciation) minus capital expenditures and dividends. Free cash flow yield is a financial ratio that measures a company’s operating free cash flow minus its capital expenditures per share and dividing by its price per share. Free cash flow yield ratio is calculated by using the underlying securities of the fund. Net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) is a financial measure that shows how well a company performed through its core operations, net of taxes. Price-To-Book Ratio (P/B) compares a stock’s market value to the book value per share of total assets less total liabilities. This number is used to judge whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued. Price/Earnings (NTM) is a forward price earnings ratio similar to a regular price to earnings ratio (P/E). While a regular P/E ratio is a current stock price over its earnings per share, a forward P/E ratio is a current stock’s price over its “predicted” earnings per share for the 12-month period ahead. Return On Equity (ROE) is the amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity.

INDEX INFORMATION

The indexes are unmanaged and do not include any expenses, fees or sales charges. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Any index referred to herein is the intellectual property (including registered trademarks of the applicable licensor. Any product based on an index is in no way sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the applicable licensor and it shall not have any liability with respect thereto. The MSCI All Country World (ACWI) Index is a free float adjusted market capitalization weighted index designed to measure the equity market performance of developed and emerging markets. The term “free float” represents the portion of shares outstanding that are deemed to be available for purchase in the public equity markets by investors. The performance of the Index is listed in U.S. dollars and assumes reinvestment of net dividends. The MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the international equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the US & Canada. The term "free float" represents the  portion of shares outstanding that are deemed to be available for purchase in the public equity markets by investors. The MSCI EAFE Index currently consists of 21 developed market country indices. The performance of the Index is listed in U.S. dollars and assumes reinvestment of net dividends.

 

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