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AUM 28.06.2024
Figures are representative and are used here for illustrative purposes only.
The Strategy aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of securities of North American companies.
The investment philosophy of the Polar Capital North American team is driven by fundamental and bottom-up stock analysis, focusing on both long-term value creation and value. The philosophy is based on the simple understanding that the team is investing clients’ savings in American businesses with the goal of compounding those savings over the long term at an attractive rate of return. They believe the best chance of doing this successfully is to invest in companies that sustainably compound at attractive rates over time and to invest in them at attractive valuations.
A focus on long-term value creation stems from the notion that, as an owner on behalf of clients in shares of companies, the team wants to see an attractive return (through growth and capital deployment) from their underlying businesses’ activities. Durable businesses whose future cash flows can sustainably compound at attractive rates provide a fundamental performance tailwind over time as well as a fundamental margin of safety.
Value creation cannot be looked at in isolation though. A focus on finding shares that offer good value is also key to driving attractive shareholder returns. The aim of the investment process is to identify attractive long-term value creation that is not adequately encapsulated in the share price of a company. This is done through a disciplined approach to valuation that requires long-term thinking and judgement. This increases the probability of a revaluation of a business’s cash flows, which can supplement returns, and creates a long-term valuation margin of safety.
Therefore, a dual focus on value creation and value results in more ways to win: value creation provides an underlying compounding tailwind to the portfolio, while buying at an attractive price results in a higher chance of a subsequent revaluation of the company’s cash flows. It also provides a two-fold long-term margin of safety – a fundamental margin of safety and a valuation margin of safety.
Andrew started his career in 1997 at Baillie Gifford, before spending seven years at Threadneedle where he managed the Threadneedle American Strategy. He left to set up Polar Capital's North American team in 2011.
Richard started his career in 1999 at Mercury Asset Management, before working at Threadneedle for nine years managing institutional mandates on the North American equities team. He left to set up Polar Capital's North American team in 2011.
Prior to joining Polar Capital, Colm spent over 3 years as a global equity analyst at Seven Pillars Capital Management. Before that, he worked as an Economist for the Bank of England where he was responsible for analysis of banks and banking systems.
Risks:
Important Information: This website is provided for the sole use of the intended recipient and is not a financial promotion. The Polar Capital North American Strategy (the “Strategy”) is a Strategy of Polar Capital Funds plc which is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities under the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 352/2011), as amended. This website does not seek to make any recommendation to buy or sell any particular security (including shares in the Strategy) or to adopt any specific investment strategy. This website does not contain information material to an investor’s decision to invest in the Strategy. Shares in the Strategy are offered only on the basis of information contained in the prospectus, key investor information document (“KIID”), and the latest annual audited accounts. Copies are available free of charge from Polar Capital at the below address or on www.polarcapitalfunds.com. The KIID is available in Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. The prospectus is available in English.
Information Subject to Change: The information contained herein is subject to change, without notice, at the discretion of Polar Capital and Polar Capital does not undertake to revise or update this information in any way.
Benchmark: The Strategy is actively managed and uses the MSCI North America Net Total Return Index as a performance target and to calculate the performance fee. The benchmark has been chosen as it is generally considered to be representative of the investment universe in which the Strategy invests. The performance of the Strategy is likely to differ from the performance of the benchmark as the holdings, weightings and asset allocation will be different. Investors should carefully consider these differences when making comparisons. Further information about the benchmark can be found at http://www.msci.com/. The benchmark is provided by an administrator on the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) register of benchmarks which includes details of all authorised, registered, recognised and endorsed EU and third country benchmark administrators together with their national competent authorities.
Country Specific Disclaimers: When considering an investment into the Strategy, you should make yourself aware of the relevant financial, legal and tax implications. Neither Polar Capital LLP nor Polar Capital Funds plc shall be liable for, and accept no liability for, the use or misuse of this document.
We believe companies that create value in a sustainable and responsible way are more likely to offer better prospective returns over the long-term. Our investment process seeks to identify these companies and, using fundamental analysis, assess their long-term value creation and value characteristics. Our approach is underpinned by common sense, judgement and pragmatism. ESG is embedded within the investment process. At its heart are four key principles:
The responsible investing approach is an integrated part of the broader investment process which is fully designed and owned by the team. It demands thinking about the sustainability of a business in a holistic way rather than through the framework of a restricted, separately imposed ESG overlay.
Analytical Process
We use a checklist which both helps identify suitable investment candidates and provides a backbone to our in-depth research. Included in that checklist are four questions more specifically related to responsible investing:
These questions provide the foundation for our responsible investing research. To help us understand the suitability of an investment candidate for inclusion into the portfolio we explore the most salient considerations behind those questions (see below). We also assign a score to a company on each of the four categories as well as an aggregate score.
We analyse the potential for a company to cause harm to the environment through its interaction with natural resources, the policies in place to manage and limit any potential harm to the environment and how changes to the environment may affect a company’s operations. We also explore the potential for a company to make a positive contribution over the long term, or to benefit from secular trends in this area.
We evaluate a company’s treatment of its stakeholders. This involves analysing information including, but not limited to, the organisational culture, customer satisfaction and care, employee satisfaction and well-being, the treatment of vendors and community engagement. We also consider meaningful potential or actual conflicts of interest between stakeholders.
We look at the incentives in place for senior managers, the quality of the company’s financial statements, and whether governance and organisational structure has influenced or could influence operational performance and capital allocation. We also evaluate the independence, composition and effectiveness of a company’s board and the ability for shareholders to express their views alongside the willingness of the board and company management to listen to concerns.
We assess a company’s ability to contribute to broader society in a sustainable manner and assess whether this will improve over time. We also appraise the importance a company places on key issues relating to long term sustainable value creation, in the context of the company’s operations and the role it plays in the world.
When there is scope for improvement, we believe owning and engaging can add more value than simple exclusion policies. We don’t expect instant change, and recognise that real improvements take time and involve trade-offs. We talk to management teams of current and prospective holdings regularly on a variety of topics. We focus discussions on, and encourage actions that support, long-term value creation and we probe to better understand the risks related to this. Where relevant we provide feedback during and after meetings regarding corporate behaviour that might influence long-term sustainable value creation.
How we engage:
We are stewards of our clients’ capital and believe that taking an active approach to voting forms an important part of fulfilling that role. We take an active decision, based on our own judgement, to vote in line with or against a management team’s recommendation. Decisions are made by the team in a thoughtful manner and put into a long-term context in line with our approach and principles.
Polar Capital uses Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) to help flag issues and to assist with proxy voting.
Risks:
Important Information: This website is provided for the sole use of the intended recipient and is not a financial promotion. The Polar Capital North American Strategy (the “Strategy”) is a Strategy of Polar Capital Funds plc which is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities under the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 352/2011), as amended. This website does not seek to make any recommendation to buy or sell any particular security (including shares in the Strategy) or to adopt any specific investment strategy. This website does not contain information material to an investor’s decision to invest in the Strategy. Shares in the Strategy are offered only on the basis of information contained in the prospectus, key investor information document (“KIID”), and the latest annual audited accounts. Copies are available free of charge from Polar Capital at the below address or on www.polarcapitalfunds.com. The KIID is available in Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. The prospectus is available in English.
Information Subject to Change: The information contained herein is subject to change, without notice, at the discretion of Polar Capital and Polar Capital does not undertake to revise or update this information in any way.
Country Specific Disclaimers: When considering an investment into the Strategy, you should make yourself aware of the relevant financial, legal and tax implications. Neither Polar Capital LLP nor Polar Capital Funds plc shall be liable for, and accept no liability for, the use or misuse of this document.
| Alphabet | 5.6 |
| Amazon | 5.4 |
| Visa | 4.6 |
| Microsoft | 4.5 |
| Constellation Software Inc/Can | 4.0 |
| McKesson | 3.6 |
| Elevance Health | 3.1 |
| US Foods Holding Corp | 2.9 |
| Qualcomm | 2.8 |
| Interactive Brokers Group | 2.7 |
| Total |
| Alphabet | 5.6 |
| Amazon | 5.4 |
| Visa | 4.6 |
| Microsoft | 4.5 |
| Constellation Software Inc/Can | 4.0 |
| McKesson | 3.6 |
| Elevance Health | 3.1 |
| US Foods Holding Corp | 2.9 |
| Qualcomm | 2.8 |
| Interactive Brokers Group | 2.7 |
| Strategy | Index | |
|---|---|---|
| Mega Cap (>US$50bn) | 56.2 | 79.9 |
| Large Cap (US$10 - 50bn) | 28.9 | 19.3 |
| Mid Cap (US$5 - 10bn) | 9.4 | 0.8 |
| Small Cap (<US$5bn) | 2.5 | 0.0 |
| Strategy | Relative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Services | 16.6 | 9.7 | |
| Health Care Equipment & Services | 9.3 | 4.9 | |
| Consumer Services | 5.7 | 3.8 | |
| Transportation | 4.5 | 2.9 | |
| Energy | 6.1 | 1.8 | |
| Insurance | 4.2 | 1.8 | |
| Telecommunication Services | 1.9 | 1.0 | |
| Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail | 2.9 | 1.0 | |
| Materials | 3.2 | 0.6 | |
| Software & Services | 12.4 | 0.4 | |
| Media & Entertainment | 7.3 | -0.9 | |
| Household & Personal Products | 0.0 | -1.2 | |
| Automobiles & Components | 0.0 | -1.4 | |
| Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) | 0.0 | -2.0 | |
| Utilities | 0.0 | -2.2 | |
| Food, Beverage & Tobacco | 0.0 | -2.4 | |
| Banks | 0.0 | -3.9 | |
| Semiconductors | 7.5 | -3.9 | |
| Pharma, Biotech & Life Sciences | 1.6 | -5.1 | |
| Technology Hardware & Equipment | 1.6 | -6.4 | |
Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding.
It should not be assumed that recommendations made in future will be profitable or will equal performance of the securities in this document. A list of all recommendations made within the immediately preceding 12 months is available upon request.
Risks:
Important Information: This website is provided for the sole use of the intended recipient and is not a financial promotion. The Polar Capital North American Strategy (the “Strategy”) is a Strategy of Polar Capital Funds plc which is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities under the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 352/2011), as amended. This website does not seek to make any recommendation to buy or sell any particular security (including shares in the Strategy) or to adopt any specific investment strategy. This website does not contain information material to an investor’s decision to invest in the Strategy. Shares in the Strategy are offered only on the basis of information contained in the prospectus, key investor information document (“KIID”), and the latest annual audited accounts. Copies are available free of charge from Polar Capital at the below address or on www.polarcapitalfunds.com. The KIID is available in Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. The prospectus is available in English.
Holdings: Portfolio data is “as at” the date indicated and should not be relied upon as a complete or current listing of the holdings (or top holdings) of the Strategy. The holdings may represent only a small percentage of the aggregate portfolio holdings, are subject to change without notice, and may not represent current or future portfolio composition. Information on particular holdings may be withheld if it is in the Strategy’s best interest to do so. A historic complete list of the portfolio holdings may be made available upon request. It should not be assumed that recommendations made in the future will be profitable or will equal performance of the securities. A list of all recommendations made within the immediately preceding 12 months is available upon request. This webpage is designed to provide updated information to institutional investors to enable them to monitor the Strategy. No other persons should rely upon it. The information provided on this webpage should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any particular security.
Information Subject to Change: The information contained herein is subject to change, without notice, at the discretion of Polar Capital and Polar Capital does not undertake to revise or update this information in any way.
Benchmark: The Strategy is actively managed and uses the MSCI North America Net Total Return Index as a performance target and to calculate the performance fee. The benchmark has been chosen as it is generally considered to be representative of the investment universe in which the Strategy invests. The performance of the Strategy is likely to differ from the performance of the benchmark as the holdings, weightings and asset allocation will be different. Investors should carefully consider these differences when making comparisons. Further information about the benchmark can be found at http://www.msci.com/. The benchmark is provided by an administrator on the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) register of benchmarks which includes details of all authorised, registered, recognised and endorsed EU and third country benchmark administrators together with their national competent authorities.
Allocations: The strategy allocation percentages set forth in this document are estimates and actual percentages may vary from time-to-time. The types of investments presented herein will not always have the same comparable risks and returns. Please see the private placement memorandum for a description of the investment allocations as well as the risks associated therewith. Please note that the Strategy may elect to invest assets in different investment sectors from those depicted herein, which may entail additional and/or different risks. Performance of the Strategy is dependent on the Investment Manager’s ability to identify and access appropriate investments, and balance assets to maximize return to the Strategy while minimizing its risk. The actual investments in the Strategy may or may not be the same or in the same proportion as those shown herein.
Country Specific Disclaimers: When considering an investment into the Strategy, you should make yourself aware of the relevant financial, legal and tax implications. Neither Polar Capital LLP nor Polar Capital Funds plc shall be liable for, and accept no liability for, the use or misuse of this document.
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