Natixis Investment Managers has announced in a press release the launch of the WCM Select Global Growth Equity Fund from WCM Investment Management (WCM), its US-based affiliated manager. This Luxembourg-domiciled fund is actively managed, follows a bottom-up stock-picking process and seeks to hold a limited number of securities (around 40) with a long-term, buy-and-manage approach.
With this new vehicle, WCM seeks to identify companies with attractive fundamentals, such as long-term historical growth in revenue and earnings, strong balance sheets, low-or-no debt, and high or rising ROIC. The asset manager believes that these companies are generally industry leaders with strengthening competitive advantages that are aligned with strong, adaptable corporate cultures and long-term global tailwinds.
The fund will be co-managed by Sanjay Ayer and Mike Hayward, who between them have over 30 years of investment experience. They will be supported by a group of global generalists and a dedicated business culture analyst. Macro indicators, though not primary drivers when selecting securities, are also considered and include political risk, monetary policy risk, and regulatory risk.
The fund is open to both institutional and retail investors, is denominated in US dollars and uses the MSCI All Country World Index as its primary benchmark. It is currently registered for sale in Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy and Spain.
“We are pleased to be able to offer an additional fund from WCM, an affiliated manager with a strong track record and proven investment process. As we start moving forward into the post-pandemic world, investors have become increasingly focused on companies with superior cultural attributes, and we believe this theme –which is at the heart of WCM’s investment process- will continue to resonate strongly with clients”, said Matt Shafer, International Head of Wholesale Distribution at Natixis Investment Managers.
This is the second WCM product launched internationally on the Natixis UCITS platform and will provide clients with easy access to the expertise of the West Coast investment manager.
Based in California with 85.7 billion dollars in assets under management, WCM formed a global distribution partnership with Natixis Investment Managers in April 2019 and holds a 24.9% equity stake in WCM.
For Funds Society, Madrid