Bestinvest says
Though fund manager Aris Vatis has added some value over his tenure, returns have been inconsistent. Therefore we have higher conviction in our rated funds in the IMA North America sector.
The manager combines Fidelity’s proprietary research with his own company analysis, and looks for companies where improving fundamentals are not captured in the valuation. This may be due to such factors as: a) a secular change in the company; b) structural change in the industry; c) short-term factors impacting share price where long-term fundamentals remain; d) restructuring; e) companies where sector relative valuations do not reflect potential; and f) stocks not being followed by other analysts (mainly small-cap).
The fund invests across the market cap spectrum; sector positions are typically fairly close to the benchmark, though they are a by-product of stock selection. Though the process is primarily bottom-up (companies analysed in their own right) research also incorporates a global perspective, therefore market sentiment, technical inputs and macro economic factors (world economic influences) are also considered.