In this ‘Essentials video’, Ian Warmerdam, Head of the UK-based Global Equities Team, and Portfolio Managers Ronan Kelleher, Steve Weeple and Gordon Mackay, provide an introduction to the strategy they manage in Edinburgh, including a team overview, their investment approach and objective, key differentiators and why investors should consider an actively-managed approach to investing in global equities.

Topics covered include:

1. Investment team structure and backgrounds
2. Key features of their investment approach
3. What the team’s strategy seeks to deliver for investors
4. Why consider an allocation to global equities on a long-term view
5. Why investors should take an active approach to global equities

Glossary:

Absolute return – In the context of this video, the managers view risk and opportunity in terms of actual financial loss or gain and see the risk of losing money as more relevant than the relative underperformance of an index.

Correlation – How far the price movements of two variables (eg, equity or fund returns) match each other in their direction. If variables have a correlation of +1, then they move in the same direction. If they have a correlation of -1, they move in opposite directions. A figure near zero suggests a weak or non-existent relationship between the two variables.

Index – A statistical measure of the change in a securities market. For example, in the US the S&P 500 Index indicates the performance of the largest 500 US companies’ shares, and is a common benchmark for equity funds investing in the region. Each index has its own calculation method, usually expressed as a change from a base value.

Market cap (capitalisation) – The total market value of a company’s issued shares. It is calculated by multiplying the number of shares in issue by the current price of the shares. The figure is used to determine a company’s size, and is often abbreviated to ‘market cap’.

Secular trend – A market or demographic trend that is typically not cyclical, seasonal or political in nature and which would normally occur over the long term.