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Overview
The Martin Currie Australia Active Insights strategy aims to transform pure fundamental insights into alpha. We aim to provide investors with consistently higher returns than the benchmark throughout market cycles.
Unlike ‘traditional’ quantitative-only funds that rely on backward-looking signals, the pure alpha that the strategy aims to deliver is fully aligned to Martin Currie Australia's fundamental expertise in Australian equities.
Our experienced investment team is solely focused on identifying investment opportunities using a disciplined and repeatable investment approach based on proprietary research into Valuation, Quality (including Sustainability), and Direction lenses.
Stewardship is a critical element of our investment philosophy, and this strategy benefits from our Active Ownership approach, which includes ESG integration, engagement, and voting.
We believe that unnecessary style risk can be removed through use of our proprietary alpha & risk signals in portfolio construction, so the delivery of returns is not driven by unintended systematic or common style factors. Investors are thus only paying for the delivery of a pure alpha rather than simply a smart beta return stream.
Furthermore, as portfolio alpha is less cyclical, it is likely to be suitable for investors with a shorter active risk investment time horizon, and is designed for the Your Super Your Future (YSYF) world of regular performance testing.
The consistent extraction of alpha, combined with strong proprietary risk control and experienced fundamental oversight, results in a highly diversified portfolio with a high information ratio.
With lower fees than traditional fundamental-only strategies, the strategy is designed to be used as a stand-alone strategy or fundamental complement to a diversified portfolio. It is suitable for use in more concentrated SMA portfolios and can also be readily customized to suit client needs for different tracking error levels and select factor exposures.
We believe that there are few peer strategies available in the market that address risk-adjusted returns in this way.
Key Information
| Portfolio characteristics | Australia Active Insights |
|---|---|
| Objective | Long-Term Growth |
| Asset Class | Equities |
| Style | Core |
| Investable Universe | Australian listed securities |
| Benchmark | S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index |
| Market capitalisation | All cap |
| Country limit | N/A |
| Sector limit | Benchmark +/- 6% |
| Security limit | Benchmark +/- 4% |
| Number of stocks | Typically 60 |
| Portfolio turnover | Typically 40% p.a. |
| Forecast tracking error | Typically 2% p.a. (ex-ante) |
| Inception | 24 November 2021 |
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"In an environment where lower fees, and greater transparency & accountability are being demanded by investors, there is a better choice for Australian equities than ‘traditional’ quantitative-only and passive funds."
Why Invest in Australia Active Insights
Consistently higher returns, without unnecessary factor or sector risk.
We have put the needs of accumulation clients at the heart of the product design for the Martin Currie Australia Active Insights strategy
Forward looking pure 'active insights'
Our Active Insights model is not a typical backwards looking risk model. This means that our portfolio is constructed based on the true reality for various factor risks, rather than relative to historical averages
Full benefit of in-house research and ESG capabilities
Unlike quantitative-only and passive funds, ESG research is integrated deeply into our multi-lensed fundamental research and our portfolio construction
Investment Strategy
The strategy aims to transform our pure fundamental insights into alpha through:
- Portfolio driven by proprietary fundamental insights – Martin Currie Australia's unique insights into Valuation, Direction, Quality (and Sustainability)
- Unique factor and sector neutral approach – Building portfolios based on forward-looking ‘active insights’, without unnecessary style risk
- Proven investment process – Proprietary multi-lensed investment approach provides a broad perspective of expected return and risk
- Fundamental active ownership – Purposeful engagement with companies and client advocacy through proxy voting
- Experienced stock pickers with long term track record – Deep industry experience generating ‘active insights’, translating into portfolios that can manage style bias
Read more about how the Martin Currie Australia Active Insights strategy seeks to avoid unnecessary style risk in the Strategy Guide.
Investment Strategy
The strategy aims to transform our pure fundamental insights into pure alpha through:
- Portfolio driven by proprietary fundamental insights – MCA’s unique insights into Valuation, Direction, Quality and Sustainability
- Unique factor and sector neutral approach – Identifying mispricing based on forward looking ‘active insights’, without unnecessary style risk
- Proven investment process – Proprietary multi- lensed investment approach using a broad perspective of expected return and risk to build portfolios
- Fundamental active ownership – Purposeful engagement with companies and client advocacy through proxy voting
- Experienced stock pickers with long term track record – Translating team’s ‘active insights’ into portfolios that manage style bias and risk
Matthew Davison
- Job title
- Portfolio Manager
- Experience
- 24 years
Sam Li
- Job title
- Portfolio Manager
- Experience
- 4 years
Our Capabilities
Available Funds
We offer access to the strategy via segregated accounts and separately managed accounts.
Contact Us
Please visit our contact page or speak to a member of our sales team, to discuss the most appropriate investment to meet your requirements and for more information on our investment capabilities.
Ross Kent
Investment Client Portfolio Manager
T: +61 (0)3 9017 8629
M: +61 (0)455 253 384
E: rkent@martincurrie.com.au
Felicity Walsh
Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand
M: +61 (0) 429 209 566
E: Felicity.Walsh@franklintempleton.com
Contact Us
Please visit our contact page or speak to a member of our sales team, to discuss the most appropriate investment to meet your requirements and for more information on our investment capabilities.
Ross Kent
Investment Client Portfolio Manager
T: +61 (0)3 9017 8629
M: +61 (0)455 253 384
E: rkent@martincurrie.com.au
Felicity Walsh
Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand
M: +61 (0) 429 209 566
E: Felicity.Walsh@franklintempleton.com
Contact Us
Please visit our contact page or speak to a member of our sales team, to discuss the most appropriate investment to meet your requirements and for more information on our investment capabilities.
Mel Bucher
Head of Global Distribution
T: +44 (0) 131 479 4748
M: +44 (0) 758 414 7720
E: mbucher@martincurrie.com
Danni Yang, CFA®
Investment Client Portfolio Manger, Global Long-Term Unconstrained
M: +44 (0) 7826548065
E: dyang@martincurrie.com
Contact Us
Please visit our contact page or speak to a member of our sales team, to discuss the most appropriate investment to meet your requirements and for more information on our investment capabilities.
Mel Bucher
Head of Global Distribution
T: +44 (0) 131 479 4748
M: +44 (0) 758 414 7720
E: mbucher@martincurrie.com
Mark Elliott
Head of UK Business Development
M: +44 (0) 207 0738 569
E: melliott@martincurrie.com
Tim Baker, CFA®
Associate Client Portfolio Manager
M: +44 (0) 7795238754
E: tbaker@martincurrie.com
Contact Us
Please visit our contact page or speak to a member of our sales team, to discuss the most appropriate investment to meet your requirements and for more information on our investment capabilities.
Mark Cho, CFA®
Head of Americas Distribution
Intermediary Sales/Wealth Management
T: +1 212 632 3292
E: mcho@martincurrie.com
Breanna Ellsworth, CFA®
Client Portfolio Manager, Distribution - US
T: +1 212 632 3293
E: bellsworth@martincurrie.com
Drew Comatos
Client Portfolio Manager, North America
Intermediary Sales/Wealth Management
T: +1 203 703 6472
E: dcomatos@martincurrie.com
Contact Us
Please visit our contact page or speak to a member of our sales team, to discuss the most appropriate investment to meet your requirements and for more information on our investment capabilities.
Mel Bucher
Head of Global Distribution
T: +44 (0) 131 479 4748
M: +44 (0) 758 414 7720
E: mbucher@martincurrie.com
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Important information
This information is issued and approved by Martin Currie Investment Management Limited (‘MCIM’), authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It does not constitute investment advice. Market and currency movements may cause the capital value of shares, and the income from them, to fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested.
The information contained in this document has been compiled with considerable care to ensure its accuracy. However, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made to its accuracy or completeness. Martin Currie has procured any research or analysis contained in this document for its own use. It is provided to you only incidentally and any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice.
The document does not form the basis of, nor should it be relied upon in connection with, any subsequent contract or agreement. It does not constitute, and may not be used for the purpose of, an offer or invitation to subscribe for or otherwise acquire shares in any of the products mentioned.
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
The distribution of specific products is restricted in certain jurisdictions, investors should be aware of these restrictions before requesting further specific information.
The views expressed are opinions of the portfolio managers as of the date of this document and are subject to change based on market and other conditions and may differ from other portfolio managers or of the firm as a whole. These opinions are not intended to be a forecast of future events, research, a guarantee of future results or investment advice.
The analysis of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors forms an important part of the investment process and helps inform investment decisions. The strategy/ies do not necessarily target particular sustainability outcomes.
Risk warnings – Investors should also be aware of the following risk factors which may be applicable to the strategy shown in this document.
- Investing in foreign markets introduces a risk where adverse movements in currency exchange rates could result in a decrease in the value of your investment.
- This strategy may hold a limited number of investments. If one of these investments falls in value this can have a greater impact on the strategy’s value than if it held a larger number of investments.
- Smaller companies may be riskier and their shares may be less liquid than larger companies, meaning that their share price may be more volatile.
- The strategy may invest in derivatives (index futures) to obtain, increase or reduce exposure to underlying assets. The use of derivatives may restrict potential gains and may result in greater fluctuations of returns for the portfolio. Certain types of derivatives may become difficult to purchase or sell in such market conditions.