Seeking value throughout worldwide developed and emerging markets
Investment Objective
The Fund’s investment objective is to seek long-term growth of capital.
Investment Process
The Fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities of companies in the U.S and in developed and emerging countries outside the U.S. The Fund will typically hold between 25 and 35 investments. Equity securities include common stock, preferred and preference stock, depositary receipts and other similar securities.
- YTD Return*
- -10.60%
- Nav*
- $9.78, +0.28
- Inception
- December 15, 2020
- Cusip
- 14951G203
- Benchmark
- MSCI ACWI
- Minimum Investment
- $5,000
- Sales Charge
- None
- Net Expense Ratio
- 1.10%
- Gross Expense Ratio
- 3.72%
Research overview
Portfolio managers Joe Gubler and Steve Nguyen discuss fundamental and quantitative research at Causeway.
Portfolio managers
Brian Cho
Mr. Cho is a fundamental portfolio manager at Causeway. He joined the firm in September 2013 and has been a portfolio manager since January 2021. His current responsibilities include coverage of companies in the technology and communication services sectors.
From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Cho was a vice president at BofA-ML Equity Research, covering the IT hardware and supply chain sector. From 2007 to 2011, he worked as an associate at Goldman Sachs Equity Research covering the same sector. From 2006 to 2007, he worked as an analyst at Morgan Stanley Equity Research covering the internet and interactive software sector. Prior to that, he worked as an analyst at PA Consulting Group in the financial services practice.
Mr. Cho earned a BSc in management science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Read our interview with Brian about value investing in the technology sector.
Jonathan Eng
Mr. Eng is a director and fundamental portfolio manager at Causeway and is responsible for investment research in the global consumer discretionary, industrials, and energy sectors. He joined the firm in July 2001 and has been a portfolio manager since February 2002.
From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Eng was an equity research associate for the Hotchkis and Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (HW-MLIM). In 1996, Mr. Eng worked as a summer research associate for Hotchkis and Wiley, performing U.K. and European equity research. From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Eng analyzed merger and acquisition candidates at Slusser Associates. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Eng worked as a middle market corporate lender for Bank of Boston.
Mr. Eng earned a BA in history and economics from Brandeis University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management
Harry Hartford
Head of Fundamental Research
Fundamental Portfolio Manager
Mr. Hartford is the president at Causeway, fundamental portfolio manager, and head of fundamental research. Mr. Hartford co-founded the firm in June 2001 and is a member of the operating committee.
From 1996 to June 2001, Mr. Hartford was a managing director for the Hotchkis & Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (HW-MLIM) and co-head of the firm's HW-MLIM international and global value team. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Hartford was a portfolio manager for Hotchkis and Wiley. From 1984 to 1994, Mr. Hartford was with The Investment Bank of Ireland, where he gained ten years’ experience in both international and global equity management. During this time, Mr. Hartford also managed the Irish Investment Fund, a closed-end country fund quoted on the NYSE. Before entering the investment business, Mr. Hartford lectured in micro and macroeconomics at Oklahoma State University.
Mr. Hartford earned a BA, with honors, in economics from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, an MSc in economics from Oklahoma State University, and is a Phi Kappa Phi member. Mr. Hartford is a member of The Ireland Funds America Board of Directors and serves as chair of the Los Angeles Regional Board.
Sarah Ketterer
Fundamental Portfolio Manager
Ms. Ketterer is the chief executive officer at Causeway, fundamental portfolio manager, and is responsible for investment research across all sectors. Ms. Ketterer co-founded the firm in June 2001 and is a member of the operating committee.
From 1996 to 2001, Ms. Ketterer worked for the Hotchkis & Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (HW-MLIM). At HW-MLIM, she was a managing director and co-head of the firm's HW-MLIM International and Global Value team. From 1990 to 1996, Ms. Ketterer was a portfolio manager at Hotchkis & Wiley, where she founded the International Equity product.
Ms. Ketterer earned a BA in economics and political science from Stanford University and an MBA from the Tuck School, Dartmouth College. Ms. Ketterer serves on the Stanford University Board of Trustees and the Girls Who Invest President’s Council and is on the advisory board of Portal Schools. She previously served as a board member and chair of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall and chair of the investment committee of the Music Center Foundation.
Ellen Lee
Ms. Lee is a director and fundamental portfolio manager at Causeway and is responsible for investment research in the global consumer and utilities sectors. Prior to the current role, she also covered transportation and autos. She joined the firm in August 2007 and has been a portfolio manager since January 2015.
During the summer of 2006, Ms. Lee interned at Tiger Asia, a long short equity hedge fund focused on China, Japan, and Korea. From 2001 to 2004, Ms. Lee was an associate in the mergers and acquisitions division of Credit Suisse First Boston in Seoul, where she advised Korean corporates and multinational corporations. From 1999 to 2000, she was an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions division of Credit Suisse First Boston in Hong Kong.
Ms. Lee earned a BA in business administration from Seoul National University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She currently serves on the audit and investment committee at the Center for Early Education in West Hollywood.
Conor Muldoon, CFA
Mr. Muldoon is a director and fundamental portfolio manager at Causeway and is responsible for investment research in the global financials and materials sectors. He joined the firm in August 2003 and has been a portfolio manager since September 2010. He is also a member of the operating committee.
From 1995 to 2003, Mr. Muldoon was an investment consultant for Fidelity Investments where he served as a liaison between institutional clients and investment managers within Fidelity. He was responsible for communicating current information on the financial markets, the economy and investment performance.
Mr. Muldoon earned a BSc and an MA from the University of Dublin, Trinity College and an MBA, with high honors, from the University of Chicago. Mr. Muldoon was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma honors society and is also a CFA charterholder.
Steven Nguyen, CFA
Mr. Nguyen is a director and fundamental portfolio manager at Causeway and is responsible for investment research in the industrials, energy, utilities, and healthcare sectors. He joined the firm in April 2012 and has been a portfolio manager since January 2019.
From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Nguyen was a senior credit analyst at Bradford & Marzec covering high yield and investment grade companies in the telecommunication services, cable, media, gaming, insurance, and REIT industries. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Nguyen was a credit analyst/portfolio manager in the corporate bond department of Allegiance Capital.
Mr. Nguyen earned a BA in business economics from Brown University and an MBA, with honors, from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Mr. Nguyen was the president of the Anderson Student Asset Management association. Mr. Nguyen is a CFA charterholder.
Alessandro Valentini, CFA
Mr. Valentini is a director and fundamental portfolio manager at Causeway and is responsible for investment research in the global healthcare, financials, and materials sectors. He joined the firm in July 2006 and has been a portfolio manager since April 2013.
During the summer of 2005, Mr. Valentini worked as a research analyst at Thornburg Investment Management, where he conducted fundamental research for the International Value Fund and the Value Fund, focusing on the European telecommunication and Canadian oil sectors. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Valentini worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in the European equities research-sales division in New York.
Mr. Valentini earned an MBA from Columbia Business School, with honors, an MA in economics from Georgetown University and a BS, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University. Mr. Valentini was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma honors society, is a Phi Beta Kappa member, and is a CFA charterholder.
Joe Gubler, CFA
Mr. Gubler is a quantitative portfolio manager at Causeway. He joined the firm in 2005 and has been a portfolio manager since January 2014. In addition to managing quantitative portfolios and conducting alpha research, Mr. Gubler also leads the efforts to maintain and enhance Causeway’s proprietary risk models. He is also a member of the operating committee.
From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Gubler worked as a software engineer, with employers ranging from startups to established businesses such as Monster.com. From 1998 to 1999, Mr. Gubler worked as a staff scientist for News Corporation, conducting studies on the RF propagation of broadcast signals. While studying astrophysics at UC San Diego, Mr. Gubler worked as a graduate research assistant in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's stellar interferometry group.
Mr. Gubler earned a BS, cum laude, in physics from UC Irvine, an MS in physics from UC San Diego, and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management. Mr. Gubler is a CFA charterholder.
Performance
The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth less than their original cost and current performance may be lower than the performance quoted. Returns greater than one year are average annual total returns. Total returns assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions at net asset value when paid. All information is as of the date shown. Investment performance reflects fee waivers in effect. In the absence of such fee waivers, total return would be reduced. Contractual fee waivers are in effect until 1/31/21. The net expense ratio for Institutional Class shares is 1.05%. The net expense ratio for Investor Class shares is 1.30%. Effective October 1, 2018, the Global Value Fund’s benchmark changed from the MSCI World Index (Gross) to the MSCI ACWI Index (Gross). Causeway believes that the MSCI ACWI Index (Gross), which includes emerging as well as developed markets, better represents the types of securities in which the strategy invests.
Portfolio (as of April 30, 2022)
Asset Allocation
| Fund | |
|---|---|
| Stocks | 97.0% |
| Cash | 3.0% |
Fund Characteristics
| Fund | Benchmark | |
|---|---|---|
| No. of holdings | 26 | 2937 |
| Weighted avg. market cap (US $MM) | $97,077 | $316,251 |
| FY2 price/earnings | 11.4 | 14.6 |
| Price/book value | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| Net assets | $916,254 | - |
TOP 10 HOLDINGS
| Security | Country | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis AG | Switzerland | 5.4% |
| Fiserv, Inc. | United States | 5.3% |
| Alstom SA | France | 4.9% |
| Ashland Global Holdings, Inc. | United States | 4.9% |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | South Korea | 4.8% |
| UniCredit S.p.A. | Italy | 4.8% |
| SAP SE | Germany | 4.8% |
| Genpact Ltd. | United States | 4.8% |
| Essent Group Ltd. | United States | 4.7% |
| Berry Global Group | United States | 4.7% |
A “weighted average” measures a characteristic by the market capitalization of each stock. Price/book ratio is the weighted average of the price/book ratios of all the stocks in a portfolio. The P/B ratio of a company is calculated by dividing the market price of its stock by the company’s per-share book value. The price/earnings ratio is the weighted average of the price/earnings ratios of the stocks in a portfolio. The FY2 P/E ratio is a forward P/E ratio using a next-twenty-four months EPS estimate in the denominator.
Holdings are subject to change.
SECTOR WEIGHTS
| Sector | Fund | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Information Technology | 22.4% | 21.5% |
| Health Care | 15.4% | 12.3% |
| Financials | 14.9% | 14.5% |
| Materials | 14.3% | 5.1% |
| Industrials | 12.6% | 9.5% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 7.3% | 11.3% |
| Utilities | 5.4% | 3.0% |
| Communication Services | 4.6% | 7.7% |
| Consumer Staples | 0.0% | 7.5% |
| Energy | 0.0% | 4.6% |
| Real Estate | 0.0% | 2.8% |
TOP 10 COUNTRIES
| Country | Fund | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 49.4% | 60.7% |
| Switzerland | 12.7% | 2.6% |
| Italy | 9.0% | 0.6% |
| France | 7.6% | 2.8% |
| Germany | 6.0% | 2.0% |
| South Korea | 4.8% | 1.4% |
| United Kingdom | 3.4% | 3.9% |
| Japan | 2.1% | 5.4% |
| Netherlands | 2.0% | 1.0% |
| New Zealand | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Regional Allocation
- North America 49.4%
- Europe – other 40.7%
- Emerging Asia 4.8%
- Pacific 2.1%
Distributions
| Dividends | Short-term capital gains | Long-term capital gains | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $0.1201 | $0.6756 | $0.0000 |
| 2020 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 |
Distributions are per share. Distribution amounts are based on gains and losses realized and income earned by the Fund through October 31 (or earlier under certain circumstances).
Documents
Fund information:
Forms:
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Commentary (As of April 30, 2022)
Highlights
Portfolio attribution
The Causeway Concentrated Equity Fund ("Fund") outperformed the Index during the month, due primarily to stock selection. Fund holdings in the materials, pharmaceuticals & biotechnology, software & services, and insurance industry groups, as well as an underweight position in the semiconductors & semi equipment industry group, contributed to relative performance. Holdings in the capital goods industry group, along with an underweight position in the food beverage & tobacco, energy, household & personal products, and real estate industry groups, offset some of the outperformance compared to the Index. The top contributor to return was specialty chemicals manufacturer, Ashland Global Holdings, Inc. (United States). Other notable contributors included pharmaceutical giant, Sanofi (France), paper & packaging solutions company, WestRock Co.(United States), paints & coatings producer, Akzo Nobel (Netherlands), and pharmaceutical producer, Novartis AG (Switzerland). The largest detractor was technology conglomerate, Alphabet, Inc. (United States). Additional notable detractors included jet engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (United Kingdom), banking & financial services company, UniCredit S.p.A. (Italy), HVAC manufacturer, Carrier Global Corp. (United States), and casino & resort company, Las Vegas Sands Corp. (United States).
Investment outlook
More than a decade of intense global central bank quantitative easing (culminating in an explosion of monetary stimulus during Covid) pushed asset prices higher as too much money chased too few opportunities. That 10-year money geyser resulted in very low, and in some regions, negative, interest rates and equity valuation multiples that rose sharply, often outpacing earnings (or the prospect of earnings at some future date). We believe a new monetary policy regime has begun—one that will likely lead to the opposite result with earnings and multiples under pressure as investors once again focus on valuation. We are most interested in identifying companies with strong balance sheets and pricing power combined with effective cost-cutting measures that can protect their profit margins. We seek to add, in our view, high-quality, competitively well-positioned, cash-generative companies to our client portfolios, including those that we believe will benefit from a complete re-opening of the global economy, investment in energy independence in Europe, and the building of onshore manufacturing in many developed markets to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities. We typically look for dividend income and share buybacks as an indication of management’s resolve to reward shareholders and maintain efficient capital structures. We want that dividend income compounding, providing an important component of total return for our clients.