Highlights:
- Portfolio trailed the Russell 1000 Growth Index as optimism for a possible Fed pivot and soft landing resurfaced amid signs of moderating inflation, falling interest rates with continued strong employment
- Surges in Index heavy weights Apple, NVIDIA, and Tesla posed a stiff headwind for our approach costing about 4% in relative return
- Portfolio stock selection benefited from a lack of exposure to U.S. banks given the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures
- We initiated new positions in ratings, benchmarks and data analytics provider S&P Global and sanitation technology and service provider Ecolab; to make room in the portfolio, Match and Ball Corporation were sold on the basis of forced attrition
- Economic growth and corporate profits continued to slow despite short-term optimism, and we expect that to continue
The opinions expressed herein reflect the opinions of Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP and are subject to change without notice. Past performance is no guarantee for future results. This information is supplemental and complements a GIPS Report that can be found with composite performance. The securities referenced in the article are not a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. This commentary is provided only for qualified and sophisticated institutional investors.
Results are presented gross and net of management fees and include the reinvestment of all income. The Net Returns are calculated based upon the highest published fees. The net performance has been reduced by the amount of the highest published fee that may be charged to SGA clients, 0.85%, employing the U.S. Focused equity strategy during the period under consideration. Actual fees charged to clients may vary depending on, among other things, the applicable fees schedule and portfolio size. SGA’s fees are available upon request and also may be found in Part 2A of its Form ADV. The largest contributors and detractors are determined using a ranking of the absolute contribution to portfolio return by each security held over the period under consideration. Policies for valuing investments, calculating performance, and preparing GIPS Reports are available upon request. Upon request, free of charge, SGA can provide a list of all portfolio holdings held in SGA’s U.S. Focused portfolio for the past year. SGA’s earnings growth forecast data is based upon portfolio companies’ non-GAAP operating earnings.