Trying to invest in the stock markets from around the world, across a wide range of industry sectors and regions can be very overwhelming. Finding the right stocks and knowing when to buy and when to sell is what most people struggle with.
Equities, also known as stocks or shares, represent ownership of a stake in a company and grant the holder a share of the company’s profits if the company’s management decides to distribute any profits to shareholders as a dividend. Shares usually give holders voting rights that they can use to influence company policy.
We also offer more specialised funds that aim to deliver, amongst other things, sustainable and rising levels of dividend income. Other funds of ours are focused on small and medium-sized companies in a particular region, or have global remits with a specialist slant such as, for example, financial companies or those with environmental and sustainability themes.
Not all stock is necessarily equal, as certain classes of stock may be issued without voting rights, with enhanced voting rights, or with a certain priority to receive profits or liquidation proceeds before or after other classes of shareholders.
By targeting the most famous companies, other investors assume they can obtain truly blue-chip exposure. At the heart of this decision is an ambition to derive better outcomes than they can otherwise obtain by investing locally. Therefore, global equities are better thought about as a process of buffering portfolios with assets that offer an attractive reward to risk ratio.
It is important to have a clear and consistent analytical framework that enables investors to make an informative assessment of these opportunities. As future returns are a function of both the cash flow generated by an asset and the price paid for that cash flow, it is essential that any assessment incorporates both these factors together including the future risks to that cash flow.
