The first RankiaPro Breakfast with Professionals in Paris: All the strategies presented

On December 12th, our first Professionals' Breakfast in Paris took place at the hotel Raphael. RankiaPro Europe was joined by Divas Asset Management, La Française, and Polar Capital, who presented their investment strategies to an audience consisting of fund selectors and fund buyers.

We kicked off the event with the inaugural presentation, introducing the gathering. RankiaPro had the honor to inaugurate his first Parisian event with the presentation of Vanessa Bonjean, Head of Fund Selection at Société Générale Private Banking.

Then the presentations were able to begin with Hansueli Jost, Senior Fund Manager at Divas AM, who presented the DIVAS Eurozone Value fund, followed by Emma Gayrard, Portfolio Manager at La Française, who introduced the La Française Financial Bonds 2027, and concluding with Nick Williams, Investment Analyst at Polar Capital, who presented the Polar Capital Artificial Intelligence Fund.

DIVAS Eurozone Value

DIVAS Eurozone Value is an open-end investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg (UCITS). The fund's objective is to maximize capital return. It is a concentrated actively managed equity product, investing through a disciplined, purely bottom-up, valuation-based investment process, incorporating sustainable investment criteria. It normally invests in 25 Eurozone stocks with an initial equal money weight position of 3.5%. It typically displays an active share of some 85%. Our investment process, adding a relative dimension (we manage Alpha), allows us to generate Alpha throughout the cycle, whether the value factor works or not (Asymmetric Alpha). It is therefore a strategic investment and a base allocation in any client’s cash equity portfolio. Sector weightings are not really of importance. We generate some 85-90% of our Alpha intra-sectoral, moving from one mispriced business model within the same sector to the next. Our time horizon is 18 months rolling. Since the value factor is the only factor negatively correlated to the growth/momentum factor, it is a perfect hedge/diversification for any client portfolio.

La Française Financial Bonds 2027

La Française Financial Bonds 2027 is a target maturity fund specializing in debt within the financial sector, including banks, insurance, real estate, and financial services. It brings together two key areas of expertise at La Française: a proven 15-year track record in global financial debt management and extensive experience in maturity-focused funds, with over 20 years of operation and the launch of more than 30 vintages.

This fund is designed to mature in 2027, providing investors with a defined investment horizon. The targeted focus on the financial sector allows for a strategic allocation to a specific segment of the market, leveraging La Française's expertise in this area.

In addition to its maturity-focused approach, La Française Financial Bonds 2027 holds an Article 8 classification. This designation signifies the fund's alignment with sustainable investment criteria, indicating a commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. Investors in this fund can benefit not only from the potential returns associated with financial sector debt but also from the assurance that their investment aligns with responsible and sustainable investment principles.

Polar Capital Artificial Intelligence Fund

Launching the Polar Capital Artificial Intelligence Fund six years ago, the team’s belief was that AI usage would always become mainstream, impacting far beyond the technology universe. With the emergence of generative AI, we are now at the inflection point for widespread AI adoption and the realisation of the next general purpose technology.

Supported by Polar Capital’s 10-strong team of technology-focused analysts and fund managers, Lead Fund Manager Xuesong Zhao invests in not just the AI-enabling companies but the applications and beneficiaries of AI across all sectors. It is this approach that sets the strategy apart from other AI funds that concentrate more on the technology companies and the AI functionality itself.

Generative AI represents a generational step forward that will trigger a wave of innovation and the creation of entirely new markets. The team aims to capture this opportunity for value creation beyond the technology sector, as AI is rapidly adopted across broad swathes of the economy and whole industries are rearchitected and reimagined around AI.