U.S. Focused Growth

Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP (“SGA”) was formed in 2003 and is a registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. SGA manages portfolios of publicly traded equity assets according to its “Large Cap Growth Equity” investment approach for pooled funds, institutions, trusts and private accounts. SGA is an operationally independent investment management firm and an affiliate of Virtus Partners, Inc. SGA U.S. Focused Composite contains fee-paying highly concentrated, usually no more than 15 security positions, large cap growth equity portfolios under full discretionary management of the firm. For comparison purposes the composite is measured against the S&P 500 and Russell 1000 Growth indices. The U.S. Dollar is the currency used to express performance.

Source: Bloomberg, FactSet, Baseline, and SGA Estimates and Adjustments based upon a representative portfolio. Earnings Growth data is through 12/31/2021 (last full calendar year of reported EPS data) for SGA’s longest tenured account. SGA EPS Growth data is based upon portfolio companies’ non-GAAP operating earnings. EPS calculations exclude companies with earnings going from (i) positive to negative or (ii) negative to positive, year to year. SGA Enterprise Yield projected. Holdings/weights are subject to change without notice. The information set forth herein should not be considered to be investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell a specific security, or as indicative of future performance.

Trailing returns and since inception returns are annualized and as of 9/30/2022. Returns (gross and net of fees through 9/30/2022) are those of the SGA U.S. Focused Composite. Results are presented gross and net of management fees and include the reinvestment of all income (including dividends, interest and other earnings). For interest and capital gains, SGA does not withhold taxes. For dividends, SGA will withhold taxes as reported by the client’s custodian. Returns are calculated net of withholding taxes on dividends. The Net Returns are calculated based on the deduction of a model fee of 0.85% being the highest applicable fee that may be charged to SGA clients for the US Focused Growth equity strategy. Net Returns do not account for custodian and brokerage fees that clients pay to third parties. 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 may be found in Part 2A of its Form ADV. SGA U.S. Focused composite inception is 12/1/2007. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.

SGA claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). Disclosures regarding the composite and a complete list and description of the firm’s composites and/or GIPS Reports are available upon request by contacting SGA at (203) 348-4742. SGA U.S. Focused Growth GIPS Report.

Please view adjacent Performance Tab for full performance presentation.

Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP (“SGA”) was formed in 2003 and is a registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. SGA manages portfolios of publicly traded equity assets according to its “Large Cap Growth Equity” investment approach for pooled funds, institutions, trusts and private accounts.  SGA is an operationally independent investment management firm and an affiliate of Virtus Partners, Inc. SGA U.S. Focused Composite contains fee-paying highly concentrated, usually no more than 15 security positions, large cap growth equity portfolios under full discretionary management of the firm. For comparison purposes the composite is measured against the S&P 500 and Russell 1000 Growth indices. The U.S. Dollar is the currency used to express performance.

Source: Bloomberg, FactSet, Baseline, and SGA Estimates and Adjustments based upon a representative portfolio. Earnings Growth data is through 12/31/2021 (last full calendar year of reported EPS data) for SGA’s longest tenured account. SGA EPS Growth data is based upon portfolio companies’ non-GAAP operating earnings. EPS calculations exclude companies with earnings going from (i) positive to negative or (ii) negative to positive, year to year. SGA Enterprise Yield projected. Holdings/weights are subject to change without notice. The information set forth herein should not be considered to be investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell a specific security, or as indicative of future performance.

Trailing returns and since inception returns are annualized and as of 9/30/2022. Returns (gross and net of fees through 9/30/2022) are those of the SGA U.S. Focused Composite. Results are presented gross and net of management fees and include the reinvestment of all income (including dividends, interest and other earnings). For interest and capital gains, SGA does not withhold taxes. For dividends, SGA will withhold taxes as reported by the client’s custodian. Returns are calculated net of withholding taxes on dividends. The Net Returns are calculated based on the deduction of a model fee of 0.85% being the highest applicable fee that may be charged to SGA clients for the US Focused Growth equity strategy. Net Returns do not account for custodian and brokerage fees that clients pay to third parties. 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 may be found in Part 2A of its Form ADV. SGA U.S. Focused composite inception is 12/1/2007. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.

SGA claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). Disclosures regarding the composite and a complete list and description of the firm’s composites and/or GIPS Reports are available upon request by contacting SGA at (203) 348-4742. SGA U.S. Focused Growth GIPS Report.

Source: Bloomberg, FactSet, Baseline, and SGA Estimates and Adjustments based upon a representative portfolio. Earnings Growth and Volatility data is through 12/31/2021 (last full calendar year of reported EPS data) for SGA’s longest tenured account. Earnings volatility data presented is standard deviation comparison since inception of the U.S. Focused composite. SGA EPS Growth data is based upon portfolio companies’ non-GAAP operating earnings. EPS calculations exclude companies with earnings going from (i) positive to negative or (ii) negative to positive, year to year. SGA Enterprise Yield projected. Holdings/weights are subject to change without notice and should not be considered to be investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell a specific security or as indicative of the performance of SGA’s portfolio. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Source: Bloomberg, FactSet, Baseline, and SGA Estimates and Adjustments based upon a representative portfolio. Earnings Growth data is through 12/31/2021 (last full calendar year of reported EPS data) for SGA’s longest tenured account. SGA EPS Growth data is based upon portfolio companies’ non-GAAP operating earnings. EPS calculations exclude companies with earnings going from (i) positive to negative or (ii) negative to positive, year to year. SGA Enterprise Yield projected. Holdings/weights are subject to change without notice. The information set forth herein should not be considered to be investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell a specific security or as indicative of future performance.

Representative portfolio weights as of 9/30/2022. Portfolio holdings are subject to change daily. Under no circumstances does the information contained within represent a recommendation to buy or sell securities. It should not be assumed that investments in the securities were or will be profitable. A complete list of all securities recommended for the strategy can be obtained free of charge by contacting SGA at (203) 348-4742.

Source: Bloomberg, FactSet, Baseline, and SGA Estimates and Adjustments based upon a representative portfolio. Earnings Growth data is through 12/31/2021 (last full calendar year of reported EPS data) for SGA’s longest tenured account. SGA EPS Growth data is based upon portfolio companies’ non-GAAP operating earnings. EPS calculations exclude companies with earnings going from (i) positive to negative or (ii) negative to positive, year to year. SGA Enterprise Yield projected. Holdings/weights are subject to change without notice. The information set forth herein should not be considered to be investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell a specific security or as indicative of the performance of SGA’s portfolio.

Representative portfolio weights as of 9/30/2022. Portfolio holdings are subject to change daily. Under no circumstances does the information contained within represent a recommendation to buy or sell securities. It should not be assumed that investments in the securities were or will be profitable. The list provided may not represent all of the securities recommended for advisory clients. A complete list of all securities recommended for the strategy can be obtained free of charge by contacting SGA at (203) 348-4742.

SGA paid a standard fee to eVestment for access to rankings and other services. Peer rank based on gross returns.

Data is from 12/1/2007 to 9/30/2022. Source is eVestment. Universe is eVestment US Large Cap Growth Equity. Peer size is 222. Peer universe data and SGA data based on monthly gross returns and do not reflect the deduction of investment advisory fees. SGA’s fees are available upon request and also may be found in Part 2A of its Form ADV. Actual fees charged to clients may vary depending on, among other things, the applicable fees schedule and portfolio size.  It should not be assumed that future results will be reflective of past performance.

MATERIAL & PRINCIPAL RISKS

Risks of Loss. The value of the portfolio investments may decrease in value. Conditions affecting the overall economy, specific industries, or companies in which the portfolio invests can be worse than expected, and portfolio investments may fail to perform as expected.

Equity Securities Risk. The value of the stocks held in the portfolio may be negatively affected by the financial market, industries in which the portfolio invests, or issuer-specific events.

Foreign Investing Risk. Investing in foreign securities subjects the portfolio to additional risks such as increased volatility; currency fluctuations; less liquidity; less publicly available information about the foreign investment; and political, regulatory, economic, and market risk.

Emerging Market Risk. Emerging markets securities may be more volatile, or more greatly affected by negative conditions, than those of their counterparts in more established foreign markets.

Sector and Industry Risk. Events negatively affecting a particular market sector and/or industry in which the portfolio invests may cause the value of the portfolio’s shares to decrease, perhaps significantly.

Geographic Concentration Risk. A portfolio that invests in a particular geographic location will be sensitive to financial, economic, political, and other events negatively affecting that location and may cause the value of the portfolio to decrease, perhaps significantly.

Currency Rate Risk. Fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may negatively affect the value of the portfolio’s shares.

Depositary Receipts Risk. Investments in foreign companies through depositary receipts may expose the portfolio to the same risks as direct investments in securities of foreign issuers.

Growth Stocks Risk. The portfolio’s investments in growth stocks may be more volatile than investments in other types of stocks or may perform differently from the market as a whole and from other types of stocks.

Large Market Capitalization Companies Risk. The value of investments in larger companies may not rise as much as smaller companies, or larger companies may be unable to respond quickly to competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.

Market Volatility Risk. The value of the securities in the portfolio may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies and/or general economic conditions. Price changes may be short- or long-term. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issue, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the portfolio and its investments, including hampering the ability of the portfolio manager(s) to invest the portfolio’s assets as intended.

Medium Market Capitalization Companies Risk. The portfolio’s investments in medium market capitalization companies may increase the volatility and risk of loss to the portfolio, as compared with investments in larger, more established companies.

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 full disclosure presentation 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.

Trailing returns and since inception returns are annualized and as of 9/30/2022. Returns (gross and net of fees through 9/30/2022) are those of the SGA U.S. Focused Composite. Results are presented gross and net of management fees and include the reinvestment of all income (including dividends, interest and other earnings). For interest and capital gains, SGA does not withhold taxes. For dividends, SGA will withhold taxes as reported by the client’s custodian. Returns are calculated net of withholding taxes on dividends. The Net Returns are calculated based on the deduction of a model fee of 0.85% being the highest applicable fee that may be charged to SGA clients for the US Focused Growth equity strategy. Net Returns do not account for custodian and brokerage fees that clients pay to third parties. 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 may be found in Part 2A of its Form ADV. SGA U.S. Focused composite inception is 12/1/2007. 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 portfolios, calculating performance, and preparing compliant presentations are available upon request. Upon request, free of charge, SGA can provide a list of all portfolio holdings held in SGA’s US Focused Composite portfolio for the past year. SGA’s earnings growth forecast data is based upon portfolio companies’ non-GAAP operating earnings. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.

SGA claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). Disclosures regarding the composite and a complete list and description of the firm’s composites and/or GIPS Reports are available upon request by contacting SGA at (203) 348-4742. SGA U.S. Focused Growth GIPS Report.