Capital Group, an active investment management firm with US$1.4 trillion of assets under management, has announced that it plans to launch its longest-established strategy, Investment Company of America (ICA), in Europe. Consistent with the plan announced in 2015 to provide European investors access to some of its most successful investment strategies, and following the launch of Capital Group New Perspective Fund (LUX) last year, Capital Group will make its flagship strategy from the US available to European investors in June 2016.
ICA will be launched in Europe as a Luxembourg-domiciled fund (UCITS) and will follow the same active, time-tested investment approach that has proved successful for more than 80 years. The new fund will be managed by the same investment team that manages the US strategy. Since its launch in 1934, the Capital Group ICA strategy has achieved a return of 12.9% per annum, compared with 10.7% for the S&P 500.
“The strategy’s research-driven, fundamental investment philosophy has remained consistent for eight decades with long-term investment horizons, valuation discipline and a focus on seasoned companies with an emphasis on future dividends. This has provided growth over different market cycles and has typically offered downside protection in depressed or volatile market conditions,” said Richard Carlyle, Investment Director.
“The ICA strategy can therefore be an attractive option for investors looking for long-term active exposure to US equities as part of a core equity portfolio, or looking to manage downside risk versus a passive investment approach.”
Hamish Forsyth, European President of Capital Group Companies Global, said “This new fund launch represents a further stage in our strategic plan to make available the best of Capital to European investors and to support the growth of our business activities across the region. We have had a very positive reaction from both institutions and financial intermediaries for our Capital Group New Perspective Fund (LUX), and believe that providing European investors with access to one of our largest and longest-standing strategies provides an important next step in this process.”
Capital Group has been serving investors in Europe since 1962, when the company opened its first ex-US office in Geneva. Capital Group employs more than 500 associates in Europe. It has offices and sales branches in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Geneva, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan and Zurich.
Capital Group is one of the oldest and largest asset management companies in the world, managing equity, fixed-income and private equity assets for different types of investors. Since 1931, Capital Group has been singularly focused on delivering superior, consistent results for long-term investors using high-conviction portfolios, rigorous research and individual accountability. Today Capital Group manages more than US$1.4 trillion in long-term assets for individual and institutional investors around the world. Capital Group has an integrated global research network of more than 375 investment professionals and its portfolio managers have a median of 27 years’ investment experience.