Jupiter has launched this week the Jupiter NZS Global Equity Growth Unconstrained fund SICAV, a global portfolio of companies that can adapt and thrive in a world dominated by disruption. The fund is managed by Brad Slingerlend and Brinton Johns, portfolio managers at NZS Capital, Jupiter’s US-based strategic partner. It invests in companies that maximize Non-Zero-Sum, or win-win, value for the benefit of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, society, and the environment.
In a press release, Jupiter has highlighted that “with extensive expertise gained from a combined total of 70 years of investment experience, the NZS team has a track record of generating significant outperformance for investors”. Based on the science of Complex Adaptive Systems, the NZS investment philosophy seeks adaptable and innovative companies that will successfully navigate the increasing pace of disruption as the global economy transitions from analogue to digital.
The asset manager believes that, while the technology sector is driving innovation today, in the coming years, the wave of disruption will impact every sector across the economy including industrials, consumer, financials, energy, and healthcare, and weightings in the strategy will evolve over time to reflect these changing dynamics.
“The team believes that the Information Age affords an unprecedented level of transparency, and companies still using the traditional methods of high barriers, wide moats, and information hording to extract value from customers are losing ground to adaptable companies that maximize Non-Zero-Sum, or win-win outcomes”, they add.
Adaptability for a disruptive future
At the heart of the NZS Complexity Investing philosophy is constructing a portfolio that balances two sets of companies the team calls “resilient” and “optionality”. In this context, resilient companies are those able to adapt and evolve to disruption and changing conditions, while optionality companies are adaptable, but earlier in their lifecycles with high asymmetry.
The fund will hold 50-70 stocks: the resilient portion will typically comprise 10-20 companies with a position size greater than 2.5% each, and the optionality component will have 30-50 names that are each less than 1.5% of the overall portfolio. The holdings will typically have market capitalizations above 5 billion dollars.
“As the global economy moves from the analogue-based Industrial Age to the digital-based Information Age, a vastly different set of characteristics are needed for success. We believe that the two things that matter most as the world makes this switch from analogue to digital are adaptability in the face of an uncertain future and a company’s ability to create more value than it takes – what we call Non-Zero Sum, or NZS”, Slingerlend commented.
In his view, investing in a world shaped by disruption and free-flowing information requires a new approach, and they have “carefully honed” their Complexity Investing framework over the last decade for success in this new investing frontier. “We are delighted to share this strategy with Jupiter’s clients in the shape of this new fund”, he added.
Meanwhile, Andrew Formica, Jupiter’s CEO, pointed out that Slingerlend and Johns are “talented fund managers with a carefully-constructed process” that has the potential to deliver long-term returns. He believes their approach is “clearly aligned” with Jupiter’s culture and focus on high conviction, active fund management, centered around client outcomes.
“We have already seen a real client interest and strong early growth in the strategy since confirming the partnership with NZS, and the launch of this fund will bring the company’s total assets over 1 billion dollars while offering a further opportunity for our clients to access this exciting new strategy, a key strategic priority for Jupiter”, he concluded.
For Meritxell Sedo
For Funds Society, Madrid