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Quoted Equity

We believe you build wealth by owning companies, not trading them on the stock market.

Focused on ‘co-owning’ companies that are built on solid foundations and generate cash, we target businesses that we understand and that can deliver good returns on capital. We tend to find these companies within technology, healthcare and life sciences equipment and services, industrials and consumer goods.

In our search for underlying predictability and pricing power, we look for factors such as a strong brand, scalability, repeat business and a strong market position.

The strategy has two key objectives, firstly to provide exposure to individually excellent companies for a long period of time to gain long-term economic benefit. Secondly, to hold these in a combination that creates a relatively resilient equity portfolio.

The Quoted Equity strategy is split into two portfolios: Capital and Income.

The portfolios contain significant holdings in well managed companies, held for the long term. These investments typically offer substance, brand, intellectual property and strong market position.

Ben Archer and Alan Murran are Co-Heads of Quoted Equity with Ben having responsibility for the Income portfolio and Alan having responsibility for the Capital portfolio.

“The Quoted portfolio is a risk managed, concentrated collection of high quality companies which we can hold for long periods of time. We always invest with a margin of safety, using general stock market volatility for entry points and to make sure we are being careful with our shareholders’ money.”

Mat Masters

CEO

Meet the Quoted Equity team
Combined portfolio performance data

Over 1 Yr

Over 3 Yrs

Over 5 Yrs

Annualised Return

0.2%

14.2%

11.2%

as at 31 March 2023

Capital Portfolio

The Capital portfolio comprises investments in well-managed, publicly quoted companies, held for the long term. We select mature, enduring businesses that have a significant presence in their market – and where assets consistently produce strong returns on capital, enabling reinvestment and growth. Our objective is to deliver a 10% annual return, with no income constraint.
Performance Data

Over 1 Yr

Over 3 Yrs

Over 5 Yrs

Annualised Return

1.1%

16.4%

14.1%

as at 31 March 2023
Significant Pool Investments

Name

Value (£m)

70.1

66.6

51.5

28.1

Other investments

118.8

Total

618.0

as at 31 March 2023

Geographic distribution

74%
North America
21%
UK
3%
Asia
2%
Europe

Sector distribution

30%
Information technology
18%
Industrials
14%
Materials
12%
Healthcare
10%
Consumer staples
7%
Financials
6%
Communication services
3%
Consumer discretionary
as at 31 March 2023

Income Portfolio

The Income portfolio is constructed using similar quality criteria as the Capital portfolio: we invest selectively in mature, long-term businesses with resilient business models and the capacity and management culture to pay sustainable dividends. Our objective is to deliver a 7% annual return, with an initial yield of 3.5% based on the cost of investment. However, once invested we will not sell down positions simply based on dividend yield, as this will fall as a result of share price growth. Our underlying strategic aim is to invest in good quality companies whose progress over time will grow the absolute amount of dividend ahead of inflation.
Performance Data

Over 1 Yr

Over 3 Yrs

Over 5 Yrs

Annualised Return

-2.4%

9.2%

5.2%

as at 31 March 2023
Significant Pool Investments

Name

Value (£m)

Yield %

19.0

4.7

18.9

2.8

17.0

2.5

16.6

4.5

15.1

5.3

14.8

3.6

SGS

13.6

4.0

12.6

5.1

Other investments

44.5

4.4

Total

218.9

4.0

as at 31 March 2023

Geographic distribution

59%
UK
35%
North America
6%
Europe

Sector distribution

37%
Consumer staples
20%
Industrials
17%
Utilities
11%
Real estate
7%
Information technology
5%
Materials
3%
Financials
as at 31 March 2023

Our geographical analysis reflects listing location.