Aberdeen Asset Management has launched a global smaller companies fund to be managed by its global equities team based in Edinburgh.
The Luxembourg-domiciled Aberdeen Global – World Smaller Companies Fund will be marketed to distributors and institutional investors around the world. The 40-60 stock portfolio will focus on companies with market capitalisations of below US$5 billion. It is based on an existing US domiciled mutual fund managed by the global equities team that follows the same strategy.
The 14-strong team aims to add value by capitalising on original research undertaken by Aberdeen’s equity teams around the world to construct global portfolios. They review the thousands of company visits made by regional equity managers and the documented analysis made thereafter. Consistent with and feeding through the philosophy and process employed by the regional teams is a focus on good quality companies, defined chiefly in terms of management and business model, which are attractively valued. The global equities team aims to take full advantage of the flexibility and the opportunity a global rigorously researched universe offers. The focus is on long-term returns rather than short-term gains.
Stephen Docherty, Head of Global Equities at Aberdeen Asset Management, comments:
“The benefits of investing globally are now ingrained with many investors as they seek diversification and to capitalise on the opportunities available around the world. However, so far much of their focus has understandably been on large cap companies. Smaller companies can be complement element of portfolios providing exposure to an under researched asset class that behaves differently to core global equity strategies.”
“By employing Aberdeen’s rigorous, bottom-up investment process, we aim to identify those companies around the world that meet our strict quality criteria, are attractively valued and offer the prospect for long-term growth.”