Ninety One Global Franchise I

Investment Process

The fund is run by a six-strong team based in Cape Town and London who look to create low volatility returns from equity markets – typically this draws them to companies with global brands or franchises. The investment process is in three stages: - Idea generation. Starting from a universe of around 6,000 companies worldwide, the managers undertake primarily quantitative screening, looking for high returns on capital, high and sustainable margins, low leverage, low capital intensity and sustainable, above average growth. - Fundamental analysis. The resulting 250 companies are subjected to qualitative research, looking at industry background (favouring stable industries with high barriers to entry), durability of competitive advantage, financial strength (strong free cash flow is important), valuation (focusing primarily on free cash flow yield), management (how they allocate capital and how they are incentivised). - Portfolio construction. Stock weightings are based on growth, yield and quality.