The fund seeks capital appreciation in the long term by investing in companies across any size outside the United States.
The sub-adviser’s investment process starts with a list of companies in the benchmark index and the research team utilizes quantitative techniques and fundamental analysis to identify investment opportunities.
Next, the research team focuses on non-U.S. issuers that exhibit capital growth potential.
According to the investment team, an issuer is said to be located in a country if it is organized under the laws of that country and is principally traded in that country.
The team also considers an issuer that is domiciled and has its principal place of business located in that country and is principally traded in that country.
Lastly, the team determines if the issuer has more than 50% of its assets in, or derives more than 50% of its revenues from, that country.
The team assesses a company’s potential for above average earnings growth, relative valuation, and whether a company has proprietary advantages.
Additionally, the research team integrates environmental, social and governance factors as part of its process.
Then the manager constructs a portfolio of stocks from a list of companies favored by the research team and allocates capital based on its conviction level.
Also, the fund may invest in companies domiciled in emerging markets as a percentage of its net assets up to the greater of 25% or the weight of emerging markets in the Index plus 10%.