INVESCO GLOBAL FOCUS (UK) - INVESCO - OUR RESEARCH. YOUR SUCCESS - RSMR Research
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UND PROFILE
INVESCO
INVESCO GLOBAL FOCUS
(UK)
January 2021
OUR RESEARCH. YOUR SUCCESSCONTENTS
FUND PROFILE – INVESCO GLOBAL FOCUS (UK)_______________________________4
IA GLOBAL SECTOR____________________________________________________5
INVESCO ASSET MANAGEMENT___________________________________________6
Fund Manager
Fund Objectives & Targets
INVESCO GLOBAL FOCUS (UK)____________________________________________7
Investment Philosophy & Process
Risk Management
PAST & CURRENT POSITIONING/STRATEGY__________________________________10
PERFORMANCE_______________________________________________________12
Performance Under Randall Dishmon
SUMMARY & EVALUATION_______________________________________________1 4
ABOUT US____________________________________________________________17
Working with advisers
Working with providers
Ratings
Page 3FUND PROFILE – INVESCO GLOBAL FOCUS (UK)
OUR FUND PROFILES provide an in-depth review of our leading rated funds and are designed to give advisers, paraplanners
and analysts an ‘under the bonnet’ view of the fund. In providing more detailed commentary than a standard fund factsheet
we believe our fund profiles set the standard for the next generation of research notes, aiding in fund selection and in
meeting the ongoing suitability requirements expected by the FCA, and helping ensure firms deliver good client outcomes.
All of our rated funds are subject to rigorous and ongoing scrutiny on both a qualitative and quantitative basis. Our fund
methodology is available for download from the RSMR Hub – www.rsmr.co.uk
Invesco Global Focus (UK) has been rated by RSMR since December 2017 under its previous guise of the Invesco Global
Opportunities fund. In February 2020, the name was changed to the Global Focus fund and the management switched to
Randall Dishmon of Oppenheimer, a company that Invesco bought in 2019. Randall has run the Global Focus strategy since
2007 and built an impressive track record of performance. The aims of the fund remain the same, to produce a capital return
over the long term, and Randall achieves this by building a portfolio of stocks that have a structural advantage in some way.
The investment process is strongly rooted in the guiding tenets of the Global Focus Strategy investment philosophy, which
Randall has run successfully since 2007 at Openheimer. The fund is highly differentiated from its previous incarnation, the
Global Opportunities fund run by the previous team headed by Stephen Anness in Henley Upon Thames, and from the other
global funds on the RSMR Rated List.
The Invesco Global Focus strategy has an impressive performance track record in the US and should be considered as an option
by investors looking for an equity fund with global exposure.
Robin Ghosh – Senior Investment Research Manager, RSMR
Robin joined RSMR in 2018 as Investment Research Manager & Portfolio Manager for the Rfolios
discretionary portfolio service.
He has been in the industry for nearly 20 years. After starting his career in Leeds at a firm
of stockbrokers he moved in 2004 to BWD Rensburg, which later became Investec Wealth &
Investment, as a discretionary investment manager. He managed the portfolios for a wide range
of private clients, trusts and charities. Then, after a brief spell as a wealth advisor, he joined
the wealth management arm of a regional law firm, managing the investments for a number
of families, their pensions and trusts. There, he was also part of the research team and asset
allocation committee member that was responsible for maintaining the firm’s investment models.
Page 4IA GLOBAL SECTOR
The IA Global sector comprises funds which invest at least 80% of their It is important to remember that the global equity indices are not
assets globally in equities and which have the prime objective of achieving necessarily representative of the real-world economy. Single stocks on the
growth of capital. US market, like Tesla, could have the same market value as all the other
global companies in that sector. Likewise, the weighting to the top 5 US
This sector, with around 380 active funds and assets of £150 billion1, is
stocks in the global indices is greater than the weighting to the Japanese
one of the largest and most diverse IA sectors. It includes a broad range
and UK stock markets combined, which is why the exposure to the US in
of global equity ranging from global large cap and thematic (water, clean
the MSCI World Index is so large at 66%.
energy, financials, technology), to global small cap equity funds.
Diversification is important and demonstrates the benefit of active over
The variations between the funds makes it difficult for an investor to
passive investing, where the fund manager does not have to concentrate
compare them as strategies will clearly perform differently depending
their investments in the largest index names but rather they have the
on market conditions. It is important to recognise this when looking at
ability to add alpha by investing across different geographies and market
both absolute and relative performance numbers, and this is particularly
caps.
relevant for the Invesco Global Focus Fund (UK) which has its own unique
style and philosophy.
Stock markets are forward looking, tending to discount events 9 months
to a year in advance. This means sentiment and expectations can be
powerful drivers of market performance. That is why uncertainty is a major
cause of market volatility, and 2020 was certainly a year for that. Markets
are looking through some of that uncertainty to a global economy making
a slow and hard-fought recovery.
The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance for investors
to think not just geographically, but also in terms of sectors and themes
which arguably have been a greater driver of returns than country
selection. Even in the US, the best performing major market, there has
been a huge divergence within the S&P 500, especially the internet related
names and the median US listed company. This pattern has been seen
across the globe with the market leaders in every country ‘new economy’
related names. Within the service sector companies not reliant on high
levels of personal service have fared best, whilst those dependent on
high levels of human interaction have seen significant declines in demand
for their product, often with a highly damaging impact on their balance
sheets. This has resulted in the permanent destruction of value for equity
holders.
1 – As at November 2020 – Investment Association.
Page 5INVESCO ASSET MANAGEMENT
Invesco is one of the world’s leading independent investment firms,
solely focused on investment management. It is listed on the New York
Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the S&P 500 Index. Employees
and employee trusts hold approximately 8% of the shares of Invesco. It
operates in over 25 countries and employs over 8,700 people.
The firm maintains a strong capital position, significant access to liquidity
facilities and a substantial cash position on its balance sheet. Operating
profits, investment performance and sales remain strong on a relative basis.
Invesco offers a diversified range of investment strategies, spanning all
major equity, fixed income, asset allocation and alternative asset classes.
These strategies are managed across various worldwide investment centres,
each of which focus on distinct asset classes, investment styles or regional
expertise and adhere to clearly defined investment philosophies aligned with
client expectations. Each team is able to operate independently, allowing
them to follow their specific investment style and expertise.
Page 6INVESCO GLOBAL FOCUS (UK)
Manager Randall Dishmon UtiliCorp United and as a Division Chief with KCI Technologies. He has a BS
in Engineering from North Carolina State University, an MS in Engineering
Structure UK Authorised ICVC with UCITS V status
from John Hopkins University, and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
IA Sector IA Global
Launched 20 October 1997 Other key figures in the team include:
Fund Size £203.7 as at 31 December 2020
Jonathan Hartman, CFA, Senior Research Analyst
Fund Manager Jonathan Hartman is a senior research analyst for the Global Focus
strategy. Prior to joining the firm full time in July 2013, from May 2012
The fund’s original strategy was launched on 20th October 1997 as the
Jonathan worked at the firm part time, analysing companies for both the
Invesco Perpetual Global Dynamic Theme fund. On 27th February 2009,
Global Focus and International Value strategies. Jonathan holds a B.A. in
the fund objective, manager and name changed to the Global Opportunities
economics, with a major in finance, from Bucknell University. He is also a
fund and Stephen Anness assumed lead manager responsibilities. This
CFA charterholder.
fund concentrated on two main areas, industry leaders and special
situations.
James Burke, CFA, Senior Research Analyst
When Invesco’s Chief Investment Officer and Head of Global Equities Nick James Burke is a senior research analyst on the Global Equity Team
Mustoe departed the firm at the end of 2019, Andrew Hall, Stephen Anness dedicated to the Global Focus strategy. Prior to joining the firm, James
and Joe Dowling, took charge of his two flagship funds Global Equity and was an analyst at J.H. Lane Partners LP, a value-focused investment
Global Equity Income. This created an opportunity for a manager from firm investing across the capital structure. Prior to that, he was a high
another of Invesco’s investment centres to manage the fund. yield credit desk analyst and credit derivative products analyst at
In February 2020, New York based Randall Dishmon took over the Morgan Stanley & Co. James holds a B.S. in General Mathematics and
management responsibilities of the fund and the name changed again. The Management Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is
Global Focus fund replicates the strategy he has successfully run at the US also a CFA charterholder.
firm Oppenheimer since its inception in 2007, which has now $2.6billion of In addition to the portfolio managers, the team is supported by the wider
assets under management. In 2019 Oppenheimer was bought by Invesco Global Equity Group of 17 additional investment professionals.
and Randall became a senior portfolio manager at Invesco.
Randall Dishmon is the lead manager on the Global Focus Strategy. He Fund Objectives & Targets
previously worked as an Environmental Engineer in industry before joining The objective of the fund is to achieve long-term (5 years plus) capital growth.
Oppenheimer (bought by Invesco in 2019) in 2001. He began his career at The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in shares of companies globally.
Oppenheimer as a Research Analyst on the Global Equity Strategy from which
The goal for the strategy is to outperform the MSCI All Country World index
he progressed to a senior analyst role and subsequently became co-manager
over a full market cycle.
the Global Multi Cap Growth strategy before taking on his current role.
The fund holds a concentrated portfolio of 30 to 55 stocks but typically 35
Prior to joining the firm, he worked for two years as a management
to 40 stocks and may use derivatives (complex instruments) to manage
consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton. He also served as a manager with
Page 7the fund more efficiently, with the aim of reducing risk, reducing costs to be right. That’s why our investment philosophy is underpinned by three
and/or generating additional capital or income. critical tenets” Randall Dishmon
The reference to the UK in the fund’s name only relates to the fund’s These tenets are:
domicile and is unrelated to the fund’s objective and investment policy.
z Play only where there is opportunity
Investment Philosophy & Process z Play to win
Under its previous guise of the Invesco Global Opportunities Fund, the z Play when you are advantaged
portfolio was constructed from 35-40 stocks but focused on two broad The Global Focus philosophy, encapsulated in the three investment tenets,
opportunity sets – industry leaders and special situations. is predicated upon the identification of structural growth trends that will
Industry leaders are fundamentally excellent businesses where the power drive sustainable growth due to favourable tailwinds in which the durable
of market perception has temporarily undermined investor views of the business attributes of a particular company can provide solutions and
inherent business qualities. Special situations arise where the market improve a company’s outlook. Randall and his team identify areas of
extrapolates the status quo when in fact something tangible has changed. structural growth as opportunities to research stock ideas. Conversely,
The team was prepared to hold contrarian views, investing in ideas that by concentrating on structural growth the team will then avoid industries
would provide the most favourable risk/reward asymmetry irrespective of with non-differentiated products or intensely competitive industries where
the reference benchmark composition. economics are unsustainable or poor.
Randall is not benchmark aware but is looking to make a capital return The fund invests when the balance of risk and reward is in their favour,
in a sensible, repeatable, risk sensitive way. The new team focuses on whilst also trying to preserve capital when the balance is not. The team
building a high conviction portfolio of typically 35 to 40 stocks, with a looks to purchase companies at an attractively price when there is a
bottom-up approach to stock selection and looks to identify companies significant gap between their estimate of the private market value of the
with entrenched competitive advantages and the ability to compound high business and the market price. The portfolio is built from the team’s best
rates of growth over multi-year periods. The fund invests only where they ideas and where risk/reward asymmetry is greatest.
feel there is significant opportunity supported by sustainable, structural The Global Focus fund’s team believe that investing involves taking some
growth trends. risk to earn a return. They ensure the risks being taken are appropriate to
To Randall Dishmon, successful investors must be expert at recognising the potential rewards on offer and this requires a disciplined process.
the difference between cyclical and structural trends. Cyclical change
separates markets into growth companies and value companies and in Fundamental Research
Randall opinion, structural change separates the market into winners and The fundamental company research is steered directly from the three
losers. Losers do not mean revert. tenets of the investment philosophy. The team asks the following questions
to focus the analysis and to give the team conviction in their decision-
“We believe that to produce superior long-term investment results, you
making process:
have to believe something different than what the market believes, you
have to behave differently than how the market behaves, and you have Is the business worth owning? This reiterates the idea of searching for
Page 8structural growth ideas and assesses whether the company’s advantage in typically hold between 35 and 40 companies with no regard for the index.
its sector is durable. Identifying the specific USP that a company may have They also have no regard to metrics such as tracking error or investment
can be difficult and the team strives to calculate whether the company style (growth / value). The holdings are weighted in the portfolio by the
can translate that advantage into revenue growth which over time will attractiveness of the balance of risk and reward. The managers look to
compound returns. A feature of companies which grow like this is that reward the best relative risk / reward positions with the highest weightings
they become incrementally more profitable as revenue grows. This will and will hold stocks across various industries and geographies to provide
also be apparent in having a good balance sheet. sufficient diversification without, in their view, over diversifying the portfolio.
What is the right price? If the economics of the company are sound, Once a stock is in the strategy, the team are constantly revisiting the
then the main determinant for the success of a position is the price paid. investment thesis and will consider new, relevant information. They add
Is there a substantial gap between the team’s estimated value of the to positions if the valuations appear attractive to shareholders and trim
business and market price? The team are conservative on their valuations positions as the market price of a company approaches their estimate of
and consider a range of valuations such as the breakup value or what its value. The team will sell stocks when they believe there are no further
price they would pay to take this company private. The team prefer to use value creation opportunities available or when a management team takes
metrics which are harder to manipulate, such as cashflow or free cash action that is not in shareholder interests.
flow yield. If they decide that a company meets its criteria, they are happy
to pay for the specific growth characteristics. Risk Management
Is Management working for shareholders? Does the management The team’s approach to managing risk is focused on absolute risk, or the
of the company allocate capital in a sensible way and treat external ’real‘ risk of losing money. Randall believes that ’relative‘ risk measures
shareholders well? The team look at the history of the management team such as volatility measurement, tracking error, beta and those based on
to see if they created shareholder value through corporate actions and measuring a portfolio relative to an index or other portfolio is more to do
this will indicate how management may behave in the future. They ask with fund manager ‘career risk’ rather than actual risk of losing money.
themselves simple questions like do they buy back stock at lows or highs? Randall and his team believe in having a quality bias to the portfolio and
Have they carried out acquisitions strategically or as a vanity project? Are in what companies they are willing to buy can have an effect in reducing
costs under control? absolute risk. A true compounding effect comes from owning a great
The team feel that honesty and integrity are an important characteristic business over long periods of time. They know what they own very well by
in effective company management. These are signposts to how the meeting the management and getting under the bonnet of each potential
management conduct themselves. Other signposts include whether company. Knowing what they own is necessary in determining the right
management conduct any related-party transactions, how much equity or price for what they get as well as how it fits into the overall portfolio.
options issuance there is, and are management incentives based on the An investment has many characteristics, one of which is asymmetry of
right behaviours? returns. These companies offer excellent upside with limited downside and
there is no better risk management than that. Knowing what they own and
Portfolio Construction paying the right price makes this possible.
The team look to build a diversified portfolio of 30 to 55 stocks but will
Page 9PAST & CURRENT POSITIONING/STRATEGY
In February 2020 Randall Dishmon and his team took over the fund. They significantly through time. The team finds many of these companies in
aligned the portfolio to mirror that of the Global Focus Strategy, run since the consumer discretionary, consumer staples, information technology,
2007, and with it the fund name changed to the Global Focus fund. The healthcare, and sometimes financial sectors. However, they do not find
portfolio has changed significantly since then. Under the previous team, many names in the utilities, real estate, energy, or materials sectors. When
the managers concentrated on two main areas, industry leaders and the former sectors are in favour, or the latter sectors out of favour, it is
special situations. There were several noticeable trends in the portfolio typically positive for relative performance.
over the years as the fund had significant exposure to financials and the
The portfolio holds some clear biases to industries and sectors where
energy sector. The first of these trends was a significant allocation to US
the team finds opportunities which meet its criteria for ownership. Over
financials through different segments within the sector. This financial
the last year, the largest holdings were in the Information Technology,
exposure was reduced somewhat through 2017 and 2018 and now does
Healthcare, and Communication Services Sectors. Respectively, they
not feature in the portfolio in any meaningful way. The energy sector is
averaged 35.79%, 25.30% and 19.66% of the portfolio. In addition, the
another area where the managers had found valuation opportunities over
portfolio held no positions in the Energy, Consumer Staples, Real Estate or
the years, but now does not feature prominently in the portfolio. Royal
Utilities sectors, each of which added to the team’s relative results, but in a
Dutch Shell, Statoil and Swedish-based Lundin Petroleum were all held
much more modest fashion compared to the equites held in the portfolio.
as the managers at the time were impressed by the commitment of these
companies to lower their operating costs and capital expenditure in order The structural growth trends which the manager believes are changing the
to be profitable in a lower oil price environment. These companies have world are as follows:
since been disposed of as they do not exhibit the features or advantages
z Move to the cloud. The shift towards cloud-based tools and services
that Randall and his team are looking for.
will continue stronger than before. Prior to Covid-19, it was considered a
In 2018 the German Pharmaceutical company Bayer was the largest ’nice to have‘. It is now considered essential. Randall sees this as a once
allocation in the fund following the acquisition of Monsanto, a US based in a generation type shift that is changing how every company on the
agricultural company, which was held in the fund prior to the merger. The planet does business. Not many things do that. He compares it to other
managers believed that Bayer had a strong business with a diversified seismic changes such as the transition from mainframes to PCs, email
range of cash generating divisions for future growth Randall saw and cell phones. Whilst the earlier changes were more recognisable,
that these features were the advantages he was looking for and this, the move to the cloud is more ‘behind the scenes’ and is not being fully
Mastercard and Bristol-Myers Squibb are the only stocks retained in the acknowledged by investors. Companies could save 80-90% on IT spend
new portfolio. by embracing this development.
z Rise of ecommerce. Ecommerce is accelerating. It has become the
Positioning Under Randall Dishmon
only option in a Covid-19 world, and post Covid behaviour will likely still
The new portfolio has no predetermined style bias. The investment team
favour not going to out shopping as much. Every crisis in the past 20 years
owns a collection of names that benefit from structural changes that
has sped up the market share gains of ecommerce.
were barely evident 4 or 5 years ago and many of the companies which
populate the portfolio now may not have existed or were not public z The electrification of money. The trend started in 1950 with the first
companies in the early years of the strategy. The portfolio can shift credit card, and it has grown globally at a rapid rate since. The manager
Page 10expects it to accelerate during the Covid-19 environment and continue company’s history. The company has multiple brands with Venom and
afterwards. Xoom making it a very diverse company in the digital payment area and
the stock has been in the strategy from its IPO.
z Diagnostics and research. It has been on the rise for two decades and
will again accelerate because of this environment. A mistake Randall Dishmon made was not investing in Microsoft. With
hindsight, Dishmon stated, it would have been a good fit for the strategy,
Examples of stock ideas include:
but for a long while the management were sat on $60bn of cash awaiting
Thermo Fisher, a global life sciences company which provides R&D a strategic acquisition.
platforms for testing technology. The company is the global leader in this
In terms of software as a service, there are holdings in Service Now and
field and revenue is up 50% over the past 5 years to $25,5bn in 2019.
Salesforce. In data analytics and machine learning, they hold Splunk and
They have 75,000 employees worldwide and the diversified business
Alteryx.
model contains four areas: Laboratory, Products & Services, Life Science
Solutions, Analytica Instruments and Speciality Diagnostics. 75% of
income is in recurring business.
Illumina, another life sciences research company. Most organisations doing
work in R&D, diagnostics and testing are in some way a customer of the
firm. The shares price has increased by over 70% from the March low. Other
companies include BeiGene a leading amino oncology franchise and Novo
Nordisk, a company which is at the cutting edge in the field of diabetes.
Twilio is one of the largest holdings in the fund and builds tools for people to
implement world class consumer services through software functionality. It
reflects the structural moves towards ecommerce and the cloud.
Facebook is another large holding in the strategy. The manager sees
it as potentially being a money printing machine as the move towards
digital advertising is a structural change and Facebook will be a major
beneficiary. Whatsapp and Instagram, apps owned by Facebook, are likely
to be as big as Facebook in the future, therefore investors should not
worry so much about the current valuation.
Paypal is a payment option on 94% of online shops and there has been
a significant increase in users since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.
21.3m new accounts added over Q2 2020, the strongest quarter in the
Page 11PERFORMANCE
Performance of fund vs IA Sector
Performance of fund vs IA Sector
150
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
18
18
18
18
18
18
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
1/
3/
5/
7/
9/
1/
1/
3/
5/
7/
9/
1/
1/
3/
5/
7/
9/
1/
/0
/1
/0
/1
/0
/0
/0
/0
/0
/0
/0
/0
/0
/1
/0
/0
/0
/0
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
IA Global NR Invesco Global Focus (UK) Z Acc
Source: Invesco
It is important to note that the performance up to March 2020 is attributed returns during the year but trade at valuations which are not justified
to the previous investment team and such does not reflect the investment by the managers assessment of intrinsic value. The biggest detractor to
decisions of Randall Dishmon and his team. performance was First Republic, having performed very well in 2016. The
managers added to this position significantly in Q4 2017, believing that the
In 2017, the Invesco Global Opportunities fund outperformed, returning
market oversold the company given its future earning potential.
16.8% against the sector average of 14%. With the improving global growth
narrative, emerging markets performed strongly during the year aided The fund (-14.84%) significantly lagged the sector average (-5.72%) in
by improving commodity prices. This positive sentiment was particularly 2018. This was largely due to a stock-specific issue during August. Despite
helpful for the Brazilian housebuilder, EZTEC, which was well placed to having less US dollar exposure than the benchmark, the fund had returned
take advantage of any recovery in Sao Paolo housebuilding activity. Rolls nearly 8% up to the beginning of August 2018, outperforming the sector
Royce was another strong contributor, rising 32% over the year as they average. Between the 9th and 15th of August, the share price in Bayer, the
continued to turn the business around with much greater focus on cash fund’s largest holding, dropped nearly 20%, following a landmark verdict
flow generation. Volkswagen outperformed in 2017 as a new management by a California court that found that two of Bayer’s best-selling weed-killer
team came in and transitioned the business into a more cash generative products, contained chemicals which cause cancer. A sum of $289m in
entity. Outperformance in 2017 was impressive given that market leadership damages was awarded to a school groundskeeper with terminal cancer
came through high-growth technology stocks which are not owned in the and the company saw a large increase in legal cases since the verdict.
fund. The likes of Apple, Amazon, Tencent and Alibaba drove benchmark Invesco spoke to the company management at Bayer and their legal team,
Page 12who were confident that they can overturn this decision through an appeal In 2019, the performance of the representative strategy was driven by the
process. They also spoke to agricultural experts who confirmed that the fund’s largest holdings, Facebook, Alibaba, ServiceNow Inc and Master
chemicals linked to cancer are widely contained in most herbicides that Card, each returning over 50% over the year. Facebook was going through
have been used by farmers for decades. Following the additional piece of an investment phase to address issues around security and privacy
due diligence, the managers maintained their weighting in the company, and Dishmon and his team saw this as an opportunity as believed the
believing that company fundamentals were good and that the share problems were solvable and spending would end later that year. They
price would recover. The overweight exposure to the energy sector also believed Facebook would still have exceptional growth characteristics and
detracted, with weakness in Borr Drilling and Baker Hughes showing had been significantly mispriced. Alibaba was first bought by the team
losses. in 2015 and added to in 2018. The company can succeed across retail,
payments, cloud services as Dishmon believes that the rise of China on
The fund recovered performance in 2019, returning 24.0% vs 21.9% for
the global scene and the modernization of the Chinese consumer economy
the IA Global sector. The main detractor came from developed markets
still has a long way to go. The team think Mastercard could be a winner
and particularly the UK. Thomas Cook suffered two profits warnings after
from deeper penetration of non-cash payment. Globally, cash remains the
2018 recorded the hottest temperatures on record across parts of Europe.
dominant form of payment, so the runway for growth remains good and
This impacted their key market and the fund sold out prior to it going
this company’s scale and network seems likely hard to dislodge. Nutanix
into administration but suffered significantly from the fallout. Borr Drilling
Inc is an enterprise cloud software company which helps companies
continued to suffer challenging market conditions as the fall in the oil
interconnect and manage hybrid cloud environments. The team opened a
prices led to a retreat in exploration, particularly in offshore oil fields.
position in the company in January, but they announced a sales slowdown
that sent its shares down soon after purchase.
Performance Under Randall Dishmon
2020 was an interesting year for the fund. With the pandemic as a The strategy’s main contributor to performance in 2018 was from Madison
backdrop and the resultant rise in volatility coupled with a change in Square Garden which had been spun out of Cablevision, as the controlling
manager, you would be forgiven in thinking that the fund would have had shareholders, the Dolan family, sought a higher value for their media and
a difficult period. Over the full year, the portfolio returned 37.83% vs the IA cable empire. Abbott Laboratories contributed well, as it is a well-run
Global sector return of 15.27%. The new team took over the fund on the business that the know well and expect to own for a long time to come.
1st March 2020 and despite aligning the portfolio to the new investment The company’s 2017 acquisition of St. Jude Medical had gone well and
process, the fund has returned 53.39% against a return on the IA Global contributed to the company’s top and bottom-line improvement. Facebook
sector of 22.73%. Performance was driven by the overweight exposure and Alibaba were some of the main detractors from performance over
to the communications services sector. Twilio doubled and Facebook was the year, as the tech sector sold off in Q4 and worries over rising Sino-US
up by over 50% over the period. The technology sector also contributed to trade tension rose.
the active return with names such as Salesforce.com, ServiceNow Inc and
CrowdStrike contributing well.
This is indicative of Randall’s longer-term performance in the
representative strategy which has significantly outperformed the IA global
sector since its inception in 2007.
Page 13SUMMARY & EVALUATION
This is a high-conviction, bottom-up, unconstrained global equity fund The combination of Randall Dishmon, an experienced fund manager,
whereby the managers are seeking to invest in companies that can benefit and a small but dedicated team of equity analysts has enabled the
from structural changes taking place in the wider global economy. The fund to produce a healthy capital returns relative to its peers over most
team invest in industry leaders which can demonstrate a clear competitive timeframes.
advantage and the ability to compound high rates of growth over multi-
Overall, the managers track-record combined with the differentiated
year periods. The managers strive to retain a low correlation to market
approach makes the Invesco Global Focus (UK) is a good option for
factors by constructing a concentrated portfolio of best ideas portfolio
investors looking for exposure to global equities with a bias towards
that is style agnostic and opportunity orientated, across a broad range of
quality growth companies.
geographical regions and sectors. The active share in the fund is typically
over 90% offering a truly differentiated approach to the index.
The fund is managed by a small but experienced, tight-knit team, who
are supported by the broader investment teams at Invesco. Lead manager
Randall Dishmon joined Oppenheimer as a Research Analyst in 2001 on
the Global Equity Strategy before setting up the Global Focus Strategy and
growing it to manage over $2.6billion of assets currently. He brings with
him a wealth of experience gained from industry where he worked as an
environment engineer and a management consultant before moving into
fund management. This experience gives Randall a broader view of the
world and has a healthy degree of scepticism to the traditional methods of
fund management.
The manager has outperformed both the benchmark and the sector
average over his tenure of this fund and the over longer term in the
strategy. Given the smaller number of holdings, the fund tends to exhibit a
higher level of volatility than its peers and the strategy will tend to lag in
strong momentum markets, where valuation is less important to market
participants and share prices are driven by other variables rather than the
underlying fundamentals. This was particularly evident in 2014 and 2015
when the strategy lagged the benchmark somewhat as investors favoured
‘bond proxy’ type companies. More recently in August/September 2018,
the fund was down over 10%, largely due to a stock specific issue in its
largest holding.
Page 14NOTES
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Page 16ABOUT US
Established in 2004 RSMR provides research and analysis to firms working Ratings
across the UK’s personal financial services marketplace.
Our innovative ratings are now recognised as market leading and cover
Our work is completed with total impartiality, without any conflict of a broad area of investment solutions including single strategy funds, SRI
interest and delivered to a high professional standard by a team of funds, Multimanager and multi-asset funds, DFMs and investment trusts.
experienced and highly qualified people. Our familiar ‘R’ logo is now recognised as a trusted badge of quality by
advisers and providers alike and a ‘must-have’ when selecting funds. Our
Working with advisers ratings are founded on a strict methodology that considers performance
We provide specialist research, analysis and support to a diverse range and risk measures but places a greater emphasis on the ability of fund
of financial advisers and planners helping them to deliver sound advice managers to continue to deliver performance in the years ahead. based on
to their clients, backed by rigorous and structured research and due our in-depth face-to-face meetings with fund managers across the globe.
diligence. We understand financial services and we will work alongside you to deliver
The main regulatory body in the UK, the FCA, states that personal tailored solutions that are right for your clients and your business.
recommendations made by advisers should be ‘based on a comprehensive Our research. Your success.
and fair analysis of the relevant market’ and this has led to closer scrutiny
of the whole advice process. Our solutions are designed to help advisers
meet these challenges whilst recognising that advisory firms require a
range of flexible options that best meet their own business needs and
those of their clients.
Working with providers The data and information in this document does not constitute advice
or recommendation. We do not warrant that any data collected by us,
We work with all the leading fund groups, life and pension companies
or supplied by any third party is wholly accurate or complete and we
and platform operators across the financial services sector offering will not be liable for any actions taken on the basis of the content or
straight forward and pragmatic advice to help add value and improve their for any errors or omissions in the content supplied.
business performance and efficiency whilst treating customers fairly in line All opinions included in this document and/or associated documents
with FCA requirements. constitute our judgement as at the date indicated and may be changed
at any time without notice and do not establish suitability in any
individual regard.
©RSMR 2021. All rights reserved.
Page 17Number 20 Ryefield Business Park Belton Road Silsden West Yorkshire BD20 0EE Tel: 01535 656 555 Email: enquiries@rsmgroup.co.uk www.rsmr.co.uk OUR RESEARCH. YOUR SUCCESS Rayner Spencer Mills Research Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales under Company Registration Number 5227656. Registered Office: Number 20, Ryefield Business Park, Belton Road, Silsden, BD20 0EE. RSMR is a registered trademark.
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