RankiaPro Breakfast with professionals in Paris All the strategies presented

Second event in Paris, organized by Cigogne Management (La Française), Global X ETFs, Ninety One, and NS Partners.

15 NOV, 2024

By Francisco Estela Moreno from RankiaPro Europe

On November 7, RankiaPro Europe held a new edition of the Breakfast with Professionals in Paris, where over 20 fund selectors gathered to explore investment strategies from prominent asset managers such as Cigogne Management, Global X ETFs, Ninety One, and NS PARTNERS.

Below is an overview of the investment strategies presented during the event:

Cigogne Management ITS - Credit Opportunities Fund - Cigogne Management (La Française)

Presenter: Joffrey Czurda, Managing Director & CEO

The Cigogne UCITS - Credit Opportunities Fund by Cigogne Management (La Française Group) is strategically designed to capture diverse opportunities within the credit markets, relying on a carefully curated portfolio that spans multiple sectors and types of debt instruments. Key areas of investment include corporate credit, sovereign debt, convertible bonds, and asset-backed securities (ABS). Within corporate credit, the fund typically focuses on high-quality, investment-grade debt with shorter maturities, which are often paired with arbitrage strategies that balance bonds against credit default swaps (CDS) to optimize risk-adjusted returns. This approach not only seeks to capitalize on pricing discrepancies in credit spreads but also allows the fund to respond dynamically to shifts in credit risk across sectors.

Sovereign fixed-income investments within the portfolio include debt from G7 nations and select emerging markets, targeting yield opportunities while also implementing strategies like yield curve arbitrage, country spread differentials, and inflation-linked bond arbitrage.

Through this broad allocation across credit sectors, combined with sectoral exclusions that avoid industries with elevated ESG risks such as controversial weapons, coal, and hydrocarbons, the Cigogne UCITS - Credit Opportunities Fund maintains resilience and adaptability.

Commodities Strategy - Global X ETFs

Presenter: Roberta Caselli, Commodities Strategy & Research

Global X ETFs has developed a suite of funds that allow investors to gain targeted exposure to sectors essential for the global shift toward cleaner and more sustainable energy. With a focus on metals and resources that are fundamental to renewable energy infrastructure, these ETFs enable investors to participate in the growth potential of industries aligned with the energy transition. The following three funds—Copper Miners, Silver Miners, and Uranium ETFs—highlight strategic areas of investment in commodities crucial for emerging technologies and sustainable power sources.

Copper Miners UCITS ETF (COPX LN): A fund aiming to capture a diversified basket of global copper mining companies supplying the critical materials underpinning the global energy transition.

Silver Miners UCITS ETF (SILV LN): A fund focused on investing in pure-play silver mining companies that generate substantial revenues through mining, exploration, and refining activities.

Uranium UCITS ETF (URNU LN): A fund investing in companies involved in uranium mining and the production of components for nuclear energy—a vital, low-emission energy source in the shift from fossil fuels to renewables.

European Equity Fund - Ninety One

Presenter: Ben Lambert, Portfolio Manager

The European Equity Fund by Ninety One aims to achieve long-term returns by investing in high-quality European companies. From a broad investable universe, the robust, repeatable process begins with a machine learning alpha model which objectively ranks companies from the most to least attractive based on our philosophy and investment criteria.

The fundamental analysis uncovers deep, forward looking insights on the key business drivers that matter for share price performance over the next 12-24 months and are underestimated or mispriced by the market.

The investment process includes thorough sustainability assessments, favoring companies with lower environmental impact metrics, such as waste management and water usage intensity. Additionally, the fund excludes companies heavily involved in sectors like thermal coal, oil sands, and controversial weapons.

The resulting portfolio has balanced exposure over time to value, growth, quality, and momentum.

PM focus on idiosyncratic risk to drive consistent, long-term risk adjusted returns.

It demonstrates a low tracking error and strong risk-adjusted returns, with a Sharpe Ratio of 1.11, surpassing the benchmark’s ratio of 0.79.

The European Equity Fund is ideal for long-term investors seeking European equity exposure with a sustainable and high-conviction approach, supported by a robust track record and strategic ESG integration.

DGC Stock Selection Fund - NS PARTNERS

Presenter: Pierre Mouton, Head of Long Only Strategies

The DGC Stock Selection Fund, managed by NS Partners, aims to outperform the MSCI World Index over a full market cycle by investing in a selection of large caps companies from developed countries (no emerging markets) with no sector or country constraints.

The manager employs an active and fundamental approach of stock-picking (no macroeconomic considerations) relying on in-house research with an elevated focus on quality (margins, balance sheet, managements’ reliability, free cash-flow generation) and proprietary valuations models as thorough work is regularly done on valuations (PER, comparable and historical PER, PEG, sum of the parts, DCF when applicable) with the integration of ESG consideration through the investment process (SFDR Article 8).

As a main differentiator to many global equity Funds, the DGC Stock Selection Fund employs a blended approach with no style bias (growth vs. value, cyclicals vs. defensives) which is well-suited to navigate periods of markets rotations and deliver value over the long run, thus, making this Fund relevant for any investor looking for a “Core” equity allocation.

The portfolio is concentrated around 40-45 stocks to reflect the highest convictions from the manager but sufficiently diversified across all sectors and always fully invested (no market timing, no futures, no options, no derivatives). Historically, the portfolio exhibits low to moderate turnover (~30-35% annualized) and a high active share (>85%).

NS Partners has an extensive experience managing global equity portfolios, as the strategy was launched in 1989. The UCITS V Fund was launched in 2013 and managed by Pierre Mouton, Head of Long Only Investments since its inception.

Over the last 5 years the Fund delivered an annualized return of +12.6% in EUR, outperforming the MSCI World Index TR EUR and the average peer group “Global Large-Cap Blend Equity” over the same period.

DGC Stock Selection is a Luxembourg domiciled UCITS V Fund, available for sale in many European countries for Institutional and Retail investors in the main currencies (EUR, USD, CHF, GBP) with a daily liquidity.