PineBridge: Investing in Global Equities by Focusing on Companies Rather Than Macro Factors

Presentation by LarrainVial in Montevideo

Date: 24 Oct 2024 · 14:46

Juan Miguel Cartagena, Partner & Co-Head of International Distribution at LarrainVial, estimates that the fund market in Uruguay amounts to between $15 billion and $18 billion and believes that his firm can be valuable to independent advisors due to both its variety of strategies and its expertise in alternative assets

Adrien Grynblat: "Companies, like human beings, have cycles, and that's why studying them is essential. We categorize them based on their growth, maturity, and stability"

The refreshing aspect of Adrien Grynblat's presentation was the absence of lengthy debates about Fed interest rates or a U.S. recession. In a year dominated by exhausting focus on “half a basis point,” the head of PineBridge explains that they are not focused on U.S. elections or macroeconomics: the priority is selecting the right companies

With the support of LarrainVial, PineBridge Investments presented its global equity fund in Montevideo, emphasizing its differentiator compared to the competition: the complete recategorization of each asset’s benchmark to capture the life cycle of each company.

LarrainVial aims to make a strong entry into the Uruguayan market by offering the distribution of a diverse network of international managers, leveraging its team of 56 people dedicated to serving Latin American clients, both onshore and offshore.

Juan Miguel Cartagena, Partner & Co-Head of International Distribution at LarrainVial, estimates that the Uruguayan fund market is worth between $15 billion and $18 billion and believes that his firm can be valuable to independent advisors due to its variety of strategies and expertise in alternative assets. The company currently manages $30 billion in assets.

The PineBridge Global Focus Equity

Adrien Grynblat, Managing Director for Latin America at PineBridge Investments, acknowledged upfront that Uruguayan investors have ample access to global equities and that competition is strong. That’s why he highlighted the firm’s differentiator: “Companies, like human beings, have cycles, and that’s why studying them is essential. We categorize them based on their growth, maturity, and stability.”

Building on this philosophy, the fund’s managers recategorize the benchmark according to their analysis and convictions, looking for “market dislocations.” It is a quality-focused portfolio with around 40 to 50 stocks that has weathered recent crises well.

What was refreshing about Adrien Grynblat’s presentation was the absence of lengthy debates about Fed interest rates or a U.S. recession. In a year dominated by the exhausting focus on “half a basis point,” the PineBridge executive explained that they are not concerned with U.S. elections or macroeconomics: the focus is on selecting the right companies.

For this reason, Paulina Espósito, newly appointed representative of LarrainVial in Uruguay and Argentina, argued that the fund is a good enhancer for portfolios in the Río de la Plata region, capable of adding alpha with lower volatility.

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