Lazard Asset Management Pacific Co (LAM) has announced the launch of the Lazard Global Equity Franchise Fund.
The Lazard Global Equity Franchise Fund will seek long-term, capital growth by investing in a range of listed companies which are considered to have an “economic franchise”, meaning companies with a stable history and strong earnings forecastability. The number of holdings in the Fund could be in the region of 25-50. Performance will be measured against the MSCI World Index.
This Fund will be managed by the same team of portfolio managers and analysts that already run the highly successful Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Equity Fund, a niche global equity strategy,that has a strong ten-year track record, delivering 10.97% annualised (net of fees) since inception. The team now manages over A$10 billion for our clients*.
The team, including Bertrand Cliquet, Matthew Landy, John Mulquiney, Warryn Robertson and Anthony Rohrlach are located in London, New York and Sydney and draw on the experience and expertise of over 250 Lazard investment professionals worldwide.
“We believe many Australian investors are over exposed to the risks in the Australian economy and equity market.” said Warryn Robertson, Portfolio Manager/Analyst for the Lazard Global Equity Franchise Fund. “This Fund is designed for Australian investors who wish to diversify their portfolio into global equities but do so through what we believe is a lower risk option. We aim to reduce the uncertainty in global equity markets by only investing in companies that have historically shown higher revenue certainty. For us this predictability means they are easier to forecast and therefore less likely to produce the negative shocks that diminish shareholder value.”
This Fund will be actively managed and stock selection will be based on Lazard Asset Management’s value driven, bottom up approach to investing.
Lazard Asset Management LLC (LAM) offers a range of equity, fixed-income, and alternative investment products worldwide. As of 30 June 2015, LAM and affiliated asset management companies in the Lazard Group manage A$239 billion of client assets.