Strategies

Calvert Global Equity Strategy

Strategy Inception

March 2020

Asset Class

Global Equity

Quick Facts

Benchmark

MSCI ACWI

Related Product

Pooled Vehicle

Top

Overview

Overview
Investment Approach
Investment Process
Portfolio Managers
Insights

Overview

The Calvert Global Equity Strategy aims to be a concentrated and balanced portfolio of high and improving quality companies that exhibit sound management of ESG characteristics. The Strategy invests in sustainable business models, with secular growth characteristics, high or improving returns on invested capital, sustainable competitive advantages, durable balance sheets, and strong capital allocation, with a proven ability to compound cashflows over the long term.

Differentiators

Calvert’s 40 year heritage in responsible investing

Four decades of leadership in responsible investing. Robust ESG characteristics are critical to the sustainability of a company’s business model and we integrate ESG research, focused on financial materiality, into fundamental research and stock selection.

Sound intellectual Framework

Investment approach is focused on sustainable business models and managed by an experienced, empowered, and accountable team of global investors.

Mitigating Behavioural Bias

A prominent aspect of our investment process is how we combat behavioural biases. The Global Team recognise that behavioural biases are present in every investment team and have developed a proprietary approach towards minimising these biases, termed Portfolio Exercises, which are provocative, action-oriented, contrarian and creative.

Concentrated and Balanced Portfolio

The Strategy is a concentrated and balanced portfolio of high-quality companies. We seek to deliver an attractive return journey for clients over the long-term, with participation during strong market environments and resilience in weaker market environments.

Investment Approach

The Calvert Global Equity Strategy seeks to provide high total returns, consistent with reasonable risk from a concentrated portfolio of high and improving quality companies that effectively manage financially material ESG characteristics. The Global Team believe that sustainable business models, generating sustainable financial performance have a propensity to compound value for shareholders; and in a concentrated and balanced portfolio can generate an attractive return journey for clients over the long term. The Team further believes that the market often misprices sustainable business models and looks to add value by understanding the key drivers of sustainable business models and the ability of companies to generate strong financial returns and to compound value for shareholders over the long-term.

Invest in high and improving quality companies with sustainable business models that can compound cashflows at a higher level, for longer periods than the market gives credit for.
ESG research is integrated throughout our investment process giving a comprehensive understanding of the sustainability characteristics of businesses.
Managed in a concentrated and balanced portfolio to generate an attractive return journey for clients.

Investment Process

The Global Team utilises a bottom-up fundamental investment process to identify companies with sustainable business models that demonstrate the ability to deliver sustainable financial performance in order to compound value for shareholders over the long term. The Team focuses on high and improving quality companies with the ability to deliver high growth, high gross margins and high or improving Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); as a good blend of these factors is prevalent in companies that compound cashflows over the long term.

Strong ESG characteristics are critical to the sustainability of a company’s business model. By applying the Calvert Principals for Responsible Investments, we can assess how well companies are managing their financially material ESG factors. The resulting universe of eligible companies represent the opportunity set of companies that are managing their financially material ESG risks and opportunities well. These proprietary insights are incorporated into the assessment of the sustainability of each company’s business model. Engagement is used to influence how companies are managing ESG factors to drive positive environmental and societal impacts and ultimately improve financial outcomes. We believe that helping companies improve their ESG commitments makes business models more durable and better long-term investments.

The investment team recognises that behavioural biases are present in every investment team and the team has developed a proprietary approach towards minimising these biases, termed Portfolio Exercises, which are provocative, action-oriented, contrarian and creative. The portfolio managers construct and manage a concentrated and balanced portfolio with a disciplined bottom-up, conviction led and risk aware approach.

Portfolio Managers

Team Insights

RISK CONSIDERATIONS

Diversification does not protect you against a loss in a particular market; however it allows you to spread that risk across various asset classes.

The application of responsible investment criteria may affect exposure to certain sectors or types of investments, and may impact relative investment performance depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. In evaluating an investment, the investment adviser is dependent upon information and data that may be incomplete, inaccurate or unavailable, which could adversely affect the analysis of the ESG factors relevant to a particular investment. Successful application of the portfolio’s responsible investment strategy will depend on the investment adviser’s skill in properly identifying and analyzing material ESG issues.

There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will work under all market conditions, and each investor should evaluate their ability to invest for the long-term, especially during periods of downturn in the market. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The value of investments held by the strategy may increase or decrease in response to economic, and financial events (whether real, expected or perceived) in the U.S. and global markets. The value of equity securities is sensitive to stock market volatility. Investments in foreign instruments or currencies can involve greater risk and volatility than U.S. investments because of adverse market, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical, currency exchange rates or other conditions. Investing primarily in responsible investments carries the risk that, under certain market conditions, the strategy may underperform strategies that do not utilize a responsible investment strategy. The strategy is exposed to liquidity risk when trading volume, lack of a market maker or trading partner, large position size, market conditions, or legal restrictions impair its ability to sell particular investments or to sell them at advantageous market prices. Using derivatives involves specific risks, including those related to counterparty, liquidity, valuation, correlation, and market risks.

This material is only intended for and will only be distributed to persons resident in jurisdictions where such distribution or availability would not be contrary to local laws or regulations.

A separately managed account may not be appropriate for all investors. Separate accounts managed according to the Strategy include a number of securities and will not necessarily track the performance of any index. Please consider the investment objectives, risks and fees of the Strategy carefully before investing. A minimum asset level is required. For important information about the investment manager, please refer to Form ADV Part 2.

The views and opinions and/or analysis expressed are those of the author or the investment team as of the date of preparation of this material and are subject to change at any time without notice due to market or economic conditions and may not necessarily come to pass. Furthermore, the views will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available or circumstances existing, or changes occurring, after the date of publication. The views expressed do not reflect the opinions of all investment personnel at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) and its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively “the Firm”), and may not be reflected in all the strategies and products that the Firm offers.

This material is a general communication, which is not impartial and all information provided has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell any particular security or to adopt any specific investment strategy. The information herein has not been based on a consideration of any individual investor circumstances and is not investment advice, nor should it be construed in any way as tax, accounting, legal or regulatory advice. To that end, investors should seek independent legal and financial advice, including advice as to tax consequences, before making any investment decision.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

The indexes are unmanaged and do not include any expenses, fees or sales charges. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Any index referred to herein is the intellectual property (including registered trademarks) of the applicable licensor. Any product based on an index is in no way sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the applicable licensor and it shall not have any liability with respect thereto.

INDEX DEFINITIONS

The MSCI AC World Net Index (MSCI ACWI) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index designed to measure the equity market performance of developed and emerging markets. The term "free float" represents the portion of shares outstanding that are deemed to be available for purchase in the public equity markets by investors. The performance of the Index is listed in U.S. dollars and assumes reinvestment of net dividends.

The information presented represents how the portfolio management team generally implements its investment process under normal circumstances.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management is the asset management division of Morgan Stanley.