Ian Warmerdam, Manager of the Henderson Global Growth Fund and the Henderson Gartmore Global Growth Fund, shares his outlook for 2015.
What lessons have you learned from 2014?
Market sentiment can turn very quickly and it is vital to possess strong conviction in your investment ideas. Strong conviction can only be attained via a thorough understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with each individual investment in the portfolio. In this respect, our two-stage process of fundamental analysis is key to gaining this comfort with the underlying thesis. During 2014, indiscriminate market ‘sell-offs’, not uncommon five years into a market recovery, provided both attractive entry points for new stocks and also the chance to add to our existing holdings with highest conviction.
Where do you see the most attractive opportunities within your asset class in 2015?
As we look to 2015, we continue to see compelling investment opportunities within our five existing themes, namely; Health Care Innovation, Internet Disruption, Paperless Payment, Energy Efficiency and Global Brands. We are also seeing some new themes emerging with the potential to become a fruitful source of long-term secular growth ideas, one of which is Factory Automation.
What are the biggest risks?
One of the biggest risks for the global growth strategy would be a period of sustained underperformance for the US stock market versus the wider universe. The fund’s overweight position in this market is almost solely a function of where we see the most undervalued areas of secular growth at this particular point in time.
Are you more positive or negative now than you were 12 months ago on the economic and investment outlook, and why?
We claim no ability to predict the short-term direction of the markets. However, through positioning our fund towards securities that we believe are undervalued and that are exposed to strong secular tailwinds of growth, we remain confident in our ability to generate strong absolute and relative returns over the long term.
