Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability

The strategy invests in 25-60 high-quality emerging markets companies that we consider to be well positioned to contribute to, and benefit from, sustainable development.   

Download overview
Important Note: I have read and agree, click to minimiseImportant Note: Click to maximise

This information is a financial promotion for the Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability Strategy intended for retail and professional clients in the UK only.

Investing involves certain risks including:

  • The value of investments and any income from them may go down as well as up and are not guaranteed. Investors may get back significantly less than the original amount invested.
  • Currency risk: the Fund invests in assets which are denominated in other currencies; changes in exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund and could create losses. Currency control decisions made by governments could affect the value of the Fund's investments and could cause the Fund to defer or suspend redemptions of its shares.
  • Emerging market risk: Emerging markets tend to be more sensitive to economic and political conditions than developed markets. Other factors include greater liquidity risk, restrictions on investment or transfer of assets, failed/delayed settlement and difficulties valuing securities.
  • Concentration risk: the Fund invests in a relatively small number of companies which may be riskier than a fund that invests in a large number of companies.

Where featured, specific securities or companies are intended as an illustration of investment strategy only, and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

For a full description of the terms of investment and the risks please see the Prospectus and Key Investor Information Document.

If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of our funds for your investment needs, please seek investment advice.

The Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability strategy launched in April 2020. It invests in 25-60 high-quality emerging market companies that we consider to be particularly well positioned to contribute to, and benefit from, sustainable development.

Leaders simply means that the strategy is focused on companies with a market cap value of at least USD1 billion.

Strategy highlights: a focus on quality and sustainability

  • Companies must contribute to sustainable development. Portfolio Explorer >

  • We invest in high-quality companies with exceptional cultures, strong franchises and resilient financials. How we pick companies >

  • We avoid companies linked to harmful activities and engage and vote for positive change. Our position on harmful products >

  • Our approach is long-term, bottom-up, high conviction and benchmark agnostic

  • We focus on capital preservation as well as capital growth – we define risk as the permanent loss of client capital

Latest insights

Quarterly updates

Strategy update: Q3 2024

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability strategy update: 1 July - 30 September 2024

Most of the quarter’s activity happened in September, as is often the case. It is in such moments, like the biggest market moves since 2009 in China and Hong Kong and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, that we remain grateful for our long-term philosophy. It gives us the ability to step back in moments of such volatility and reminds us to focus on the more important, bottom-up drivers for the companies we own on your behalf.

Over the course of this quarter, we have sold out of two positions in China, unfortunately before the recent rally. The capital raised was mostly reallocated into other Chinese names where we had greater conviction. Estun Automation (China: Industrials) was a company we had sold on valuation concerns earlier, and when the share price fell sharply along with the rest of China, we added back into it earlier in the year. The top-down investment thesis of an ageing population needing more automation remains intact but financial risk had elevated to an extent whereby we quickly concluded it wasn’t necessarily the same business as the one we had owned previously. We allocated the funds into Inovance (China: Industrials), which operates in the same sector but with a more diversified product range. The company is looking to shift to a regional sales network to better cross sell products across their existing customer base and we feel we can access the same top-down growth driver of industrial automation but with a higher quality business. The other stock we exited in China was Kingmed Diagnostics (China: Health Care) which was a small remaining position which had already been sold down on regulatory fears.

We also sold Kotak Mahindra Bank (India: Financials). We have seen Kotak, and other banks, finding it harder to attract deposits that will allow it and the others to keep growing loans at a fair clip that warrants the valuations the bank is currently on. It used to be the case that public sector banks were so discredited that no depositor would want to risk their savings at one of these state-owned banks. But this sector has been really cleaned up, which is great for the Indian consumer but makes for a more difficult competitive environment for the private sector banks, including Kotak. With growth looking muted and residual concerns about management, we decided to sell our holding.

1406209380

The only new position over the quarter was Regional (Mexico: Financials), a bank focused on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending in Mexico. It has been growing market share in Nuevo Leon, its home region, and in the maquiladoras (foreign-owned factories) of Mexico that supply the US economy. Its bankers are rewarded on the quality of the loans rather than loan growth and if non-performing loans (NPL) in their portfolio tip over 1% then the bankers lose that year’s bonus. This ensures that the bank’s NPL ratio is 1.3% and the lowest in the country. Some 50% of SME loans are written in Mexico City and here Regional has 0.1% market share whereas it has 5% nationally, demonstrating how strong it is in Nuevo Leon.1 We expect a gradual and conservative approach to growth in Mexico City but can see a clear runway ahead and paying 1.5x price-to-book for a return-on-equity (ROE) of 23%2 seems attractive.

We continue to discuss our China holdings at length, especially in light of the recent market moves. But another area where we are doing a lot of thinking is Poland. Here we hold Allegro (Poland: Consumer Discretionary), Dino Polska (Poland: Consumer Staples) and Jerónimo Martins (Portugal: Consumer Staples), which is listed in Portugal but >50% of revenues are from its Biedronka business in Poland.3 They all experienced strong growth through 2022 and 2023 as inflation helped them increase profit margin but the opposite has now happened. Deflation in food prices and rising costs have squeezed profit margins considerably.

As always, we spend the bulk of our time continuing to better understand the quality attributes of the companies we invest in and finding similarly resilient ideas to add to the portfolio.

1 Source: Stewart Investors investment team and company data

2 Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P.

3 Source: Jerónimo Martins Annual Report 2023.

Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Named new investments disclosed relate to holdings with a portfolio weight over 0.5%. It is not a recommendation or solicitation to purchase or invest in any fund. Differences between the representative account-specific constraints, currency or fees and those of a similarly managed fund or mandate would affect results.

Download a PDF copy

Select Strategy update and/or Proxy voting to produce a report. You can then download a copy of the report by clicking on the button.

You can build a bespoke report for all our strategies on the full Quarterly update report.

Stewart Investors Quarterly Client Update Q3 2024

1 July - 30 September 2024

Quarter update

Risk factors

This material is a financial promotion for the Stewart Investors strategies – Asia Pacific and Japan Sustainability, Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability, Asia Pacific Sustainability, European Sustainability, European (ex UK) Sustainability, Global Emerging Markets Sustainability, Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability, Indian Subcontinent Sustainability, Worldwide Sustainability and Worldwide Leaders Sustainability – and is intended for professional clients only in the UK, Switzerland and EEA and professional clients elsewhere where lawful.

Within the EU/EEA and Switzerland, the European (ex UK) strategy is only available to investors via a segregated mandate account.

Investing involves certain risks including:

  • The value of investments and any income from them may go down as well as up and are not guaranteed. Investors may get back significantly less than the original amount invested.
  • Emerging market risk: Emerging markets tend to be more sensitive to economic and political conditions than developed markets. Other factors include greater liquidity risk, restrictions on investment or transfer of assets, failed/delayed settlement and difficulties valuing securities.
  • Indian Subcontinent risk: although India has seen rapid economic and structural development, investing there may still involve increased risks of political and governmental intervention, potentially limitations on the allocation of the strategy’s capital, and legal, regulatory, economic and other risks including greater liquidity risk, restrictions on investment or transfer of assets, failed/delayed settlement and difficulties valuing securities.
  • Specific region risk: investing in a specific region  may be riskier than investing in a number of different countries or regions. Investing in a larger number of countries or regions helps spread risk.
  • Currency risk: the strategies invest in assets which are denominated in other currencies; changes in exchange rates will affect the value of the strategies and could create losses. Currency control decisions made by governments could affect the value of the strategies’ investments and could cause the strategies to defer or suspend redemptions of shares.
  • Concentration risk: the European Sustainability and Worldwide Leaders Sustainability strategies referred to in this material invest in a relatively small number of companies which may be riskier than a strategy that invests in a large number of companies.
  • Smaller companies risk: investments in smaller companies may be riskier and more difficult to buy and sell than investments in larger companies.

Where featured, specific securities or companies are intended as an illustration of investment strategy only, and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of our strategies for your investment needs, please seek investment advice.

Investment philosophy

  • We are stewards: Our role is to allocate society’s capital to productive uses, in accordance with our Hippocratic Oath
  • We are long term: Our time horizon is measured in years, not weeks, and we value companies accordingly
  • We invest only in companies contributing to a more sustainable future: We engage constructively as owners to help companies on their sustainability journeys
  • We invest only in high-quality companies: We seek out companies with exceptional cultures, strong franchises and resilient financials
  • We believe capital preservation is important for capital growth: We define risk as the possibility of the permanent loss of client capital

Investment objective

To generate attractive long-term, risk-adjusted returns by investing in the shares of high-quality companies that are particularly well positioned to contribute to, and benefit from sustainable development.

Important information

This material is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute investment or financial advice and does not take into account any specific investment objectives, financial situation or needs. This is not an offer to provide asset management services, is not a recommendation or an offer or solicitation to buy, hold or sell any security or to execute any agreement for portfolio management or investment advisory services and this material has not been prepared in connection with any such offer. Before making any investment decision you should conduct your own due diligence and consider your individual investment needs, objectives and financial situation and read the relevant offering documents for details including the risk factors disclosure. Any person who acts upon, or changes their investment position in reliance on, the information contained in these materials does so entirely at their own risk.

We have taken reasonable care to ensure that this material is accurate, current, and complete and fit for its intended purpose and audience as at the date of publication but the information contained in the material may be subject to change thereafter without notice.

No assurance is given or liability accepted regarding the accuracy, validity or completeness of this material.

To the extent this material contains any expression of opinion or forward-looking statements, such opinions and statements are based on assumptions, matters and sources believed to be true and reliable at the time of publication only. This material reflects the views of the individual writers only. Those views may change, may not prove to be valid and may not reflect the views of everyone at First Sentier Investors.

Past performance is not indicative of future performance. All investment involves risks and the value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and you may not get back your original investment. Actual outcomes or results may differ materially from those discussed. Readers must not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there is no certainty that conditions current at the time of publication will continue. 

References to specific securities (if any) are included for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell the same. Any securities referenced may or may not form part of the holdings of First Sentier Investors’ portfolios at a certain point in time, and the holdings may change over time.

References to comparative benchmarks or indices (if any) are for illustrative and comparison purposes only, may not be available for direct investment, are unmanaged, assume reinvestment of income, and have limitations when used for comparison or other purposes because they may have volatility, credit, or other material characteristics (such as number and types of securities) that are different from the funds managed by First Sentier Investors.

Selling restrictions

Not all First Sentier Investors products are available in all jurisdictions.

This material is neither directed at nor intended to be accessed by persons resident in, or citizens of any country, 

or types or categories of individual where to allow such access would be unlawful or where it would require any registration, filing, application for any licence or approval or other steps to be taken by First Sentier Investors in order to  comply with local laws or regulatory requirements in such country.

About First Sentier Investors

References to ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ are references to First Sentier Investors, a global asset management business which 

is ultimately owned by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). Certain of our investment teams operate under the trading names FSSA Investment Managers, Stewart Investors and Realindex Investments, all of which are part of the First Sentier Investors Group.

This material may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part, and in any form or by any means circulated without the prior written consent of First Sentier Investors.

We communicate and conduct business through different legal entities in different locations. This material is communicated in:

  • United Kingdom by First Sentier Investors (UK) Funds Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (reg. no. 2294743; reg office Finsbury Circus House, 15 Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 7EB).
  • European Economic Area by First Sentier Investors (Ireland) Limited, authorised and regulated in Ireland by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI reg no. C182306; reg office 70 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland; reg company no. 629188).
  • Other jurisdictions, where this document may lawfully be issued, by First Sentier Investors International IM Limited, authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (reg. no. 122512; reg office 23 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 1BB; regcompany no. SC079063).

To the extent permitted by law, MUFG and its subsidiaries are not liable for any loss or damage as a result of reliance on any statement or information contained in this document. Neither MUFG nor any of its subsidiaries guarantee the performance of any investment products referred to in this document or the repayment of capital. Any investments referred to are not deposits or other liabilities of MUFG or its subsidiaries, and are subject to investment risk, including loss of income and capital invested.

© First Sentier Investors Group

Strategy update: Q2 2024

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability strategy update: 1 April - 30 June 2024

We have seen a continuation of geopolitical surprises throughout the quarter which have impacted investor sentiment causing near-term volatility.

Claudia Sheinbaum was elected the first female President of Mexico with such a resounding victory that her party now holds a two-thirds majority in both congressional houses, which means it could make constitutional changes such as the proposal that Supreme Court judges would be directly elected by popular vote. India completed the largest democratic election in the world with a surprise vote removing Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s absolute majority in the Lok Sabha (also known as the House of the People and the lower house in the Indian Parliament). The Nifty 50 (top 50 stocks by market capitalisation listed on the National Stock Exchange of India) rose the day before the election on the expectation that Modi would get over 400 seats. It then fell 7% when the news broke that he had lost his absolute majority before rising again in the days afterwards as the market decided Modi staying in power with a reduced majority was a positive for Indian democracy1. It is at times like this that we are thankful for our philosophy and bottom-up stock picking process with a focus on quality and a 10-year time horizon on growth, allowing us to take advantage of irrational price movements.

We sold out of eight companies and only added one through the second quarter which is higher turnover than previous quarters. We sold Vitasoy (Hong Kong: Consumer Staples) after they changed their management team in Australia; but given the share price has fallen quite sharply it has been a frustrating position and we believe we can find better ideas elsewhere. Amoy Diagnostics (China: Health Care) is another China business we have sold out of but this time after a period of better performance.  Whilst we still like the way the business is managed, the high operating margins (c.27%) generated in the healthcare sector means we have become worried about the regulatory environment potentially aiming to reduce those margins. The final Chinese position we sold is Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food (China: Consumer Staples), a food flavouring and seasoning producer that has seen its operating margin contract over the longer term and we don’t see a catalyst for them to recover.

We also sold Tech Mahindra (India: Information Technology) and Dabur (India: Consumer Staples) having bought into both in 2009. Tech Mahindra (known then as Satyam) and Dabur have delivered mid-teen annual performance since first bought. Whilst we still believe that they are good companies, valuations are becoming problematic. Tech Mahindra has been a great investment over the last ten years but we believe we have a better option for the next ten years in Tata Consultancy Services (India: Information Technology). Tech Mahindra has seen margins reduce and it is also expensive. Dabur is a soaps and detergents producer in India which has delivered high earnings but we expect growth to be lower in the future. Valuations in India remain one of our biggest concerns and we have been trimming back our positions there including Marico (India: Consumer Staples) and Mahindra & Mahindra (India: Consumer Discretionary) due to valuations. We also sold Pigeon (Japan: Consumer Staples) as we lost conviction in the speed and extent of the evolution of the franchise which is facing rising headwinds such as declining birth rates.

Finally we sold out of Banco Bradesco (Brazil: Financials) and Infineon Technologies (Germany: Information Technology). Infineon is a semiconductor designer and manufacturer mainly serving the automotive sector (c.45% of revenues) and it is moving into software solutions, but we feel there are better ideas elsewhere. Banco Bradesco was a mistake which we are rectifying by exiting the position. We underestimated the impact of Nubank (a financial technology bank, known as a neobank) on the country’s banking sector and Banco Bradesco is clearly late in providing fintech and more advanced digital banking services. To compete, the company is going to have to undertake a massive amount of organisational and cultural change at a time when Brazil’s economy is looking precarious with inflation potentially beginning to reappear.

The only new company we have purchased is Bidcorp (South Africa: Consumer Staples). It is a specialist logistics company focused on fresh and frozen foods with operations in 35 countries. They have a strong balance sheet with low debt levels (net debt to equity at 24%) and their asset-lite franchise model means they have an asset turnover of 2x with return-on-equity (ROE) at 20%. We are hopeful that they will be able to improve diversity at the board level but the business has been well managed over the years and we are happy to build a position as they look to expand their growth in emerging markets.

We have been selectively adding to some positions in technology companies where we took advantage of price movements to continue building a long-term position. We added to Samsung Electronics (South Korea: Information Technology) as we believe it is in the early stages of a memory cycle recovery. We also added to Globant (Argentina: Information Technology) which suffered as IT capital expenditure (capex) was postponed by several customers, but growth has held up better than we expected and we don’t see it as too expensive.

Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Named new investments disclosed relate to holdings with a portfolio weight over 0.5%. It is not a recommendation or solicitation to purchase or invest in any fund. Differences between the representative account-specific constraints, currency or fees and those of a similarly managed fund or mandate would affect results.

Strategy update: Q1 2024

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability strategy update: 1 January - 31 March 2024

Over the course of this quarter, we exited our positions in three holdings and initiated in two new companies.

The three businesses we exited – Hoya (Japan: Health Care), Komerční banka (Czech Republic: Financials), and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (India: Health Care) – all remain high-quality franchises, with long-term managers, and conservative financials. However, we believe the companies were getting closer to being fully valued given the underlying growth and profitability of the businesses. As such, we decided to use the proceeds to invest in ideas where we saw the potential for better returns.

Our first new position was a re-initiation in Estun Automation (China: Industrials) – a leading robotics franchise in China. Estun is run by ambitious, long-term managers watching over a business that continues to take share in a growing market. We had exited our position previously on valuation concerns and, following a halving of the share price, have taking the opportunity to re-initiate given the runway of growth left ahead.

We also initiated a position in Ping An Insurance (China: Financials). Ping An is the second largest life and general insurer in China, with a history of steady profitability, and is gaining market share through their brand and distribution advantage. Given the continued growth left ahead of them in an underpenetrated market, we initiated a position in the company at what we believed to be a very compelling valuation.

We also took the opportunity as valuations have come off across a number of our high-quality Chinese holdings to continue to build position sizes. A few of these include Glodon (China: Information Technology), Kingmed Diagnostics (China: Health Care), and Yifeng Pharmacy Chain (China: Consumer Staples) – all well placed to be the leaders in their respective industries, aligned with the broader sustainable development of the economy, and remain on reasonable valuations for steady earnings growth.

Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Named new investments disclosed relate to holdings with a portfolio weight over 0.5%. It is not a recommendation or solicitation to purchase or invest in any fund. Differences between the representative account-specific constraints, currency or fees and those of a similarly managed fund or mandate would affect results.

Strategy update: Q4 2023

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability strategy update: 1 October - 31 December 2023

Over the course of this quarter, we initiated three new positions in the portfolio. Two of these new positions are in China: Centre Testing International (China: Industrials) and Wuxi Biologics (China: Health Care).

Centre Testing International provides inspection and certification services for industrial and consumer products across China, ensuring product quality and safety standards. The franchise benefits from being one of the first movers in the country, and continues to take share in a fragmented market as scrutiny rises on health, environmental and product standards. The balance between long-term family stewards and a professional manager who spent decades at one of the world’s leading inspection and certification services firms helped us build conviction in the quality of people here as well.

We also initiated a position in Wuxi Biologics, a leading contract research provider and manufacturer for pharmaceutical companies. The stewards have spent the last decade nurturing strong relationships with customers across geographies, and are building on their research relationships to scale up manufacturing services. The nature of the business, where the timeline from drug discovery to manufacturing can be decades, means that long-term customer relationships are crucial, and the trust built is difficult to disrupt. 

The last new addition to the portfolio was Allegro (Poland: Consumer Discretionary), the leading e-commerce platform in Poland with 40% market share. The core business has continued to be resilient through a period of mismanagement, and they remain nine times larger than their next competitor. With a new CEO in place, Allegro is focused on improving their international operations and re-focusing on profitability.

We have also continued adding to some of our high-quality holdings where valuations have become more attractive. One such example is WEG (Brazil: Industrials), a manufacturer of electric motors, which are sold into areas like electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy with structural growth opportunities. WEG has been consistently investing behind expanding outside of Brazil and is focused on Mexico, China, and India as their next large regions of growth. Alongside, they have recently completed their largest acquisition with the balance sheet remaining in sound health.

To fund these additions we trimmed a few positions where valuations had become less attractive including MercadoLibre (United States: Consumer Discretionary), Hoya (Japan: Health Care), and Tata Consultancy Services (India: Information Technology). In each of these cases, we continue to have conviction in the quality of people and the franchises, but believe increasingly stretched valuations suggest we might have better opportunities elsewhere.

Finally, we exited one position in the portfolio: Clicks (South Africa: Consumer Staples). We continue to have a lot of respect for the quality of the management team at Clicks as well as the business they have carefully built over decades. The combination of possibly slower growth over the next decade, stretched valuations, and South African Rand depreciation meant that the potential for hard currency returns is not as attractive, leading us to exit.

Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Named new investments disclosed relate to holdings with a portfolio weight over 0.5%. It is not a recommendation or solicitation to purchase or invest in any fund. Differences between the representative account-specific constraints, currency or fees and those of a similarly managed fund or mandate would affect results.

Proxy voting

Proxy voting: Q3 2024

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability proxy voting: 1 July - 30 September 2024

Proxy voting by country of origin

Proxy voting by proposal category

During the quarter there were 77 resolutions from nine companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we did not vote against any resolutions.

Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Proxy voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.

Proxy voting: Q2 2024

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability proxy voting: 1 April - 30 June 2024

Proxy voting by country of origin

Proxy voting by proposal category

During the quarter there were 430 resolutions from 35 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against 15 resolutions.

We abstained from voting on amendments to work systems for independent directors and board meeting procedures at Amoy Diagnostics as the company did not provide sufficient data on the proposed amendments. (two resolutions)

We voted against the appointment of the auditor at EPAM Systems, Estun Automation, Glodon, Sunny Optical Technology and Yifeng Pharmacy Chain as they have been in place for over 10 years and the companies’ have given no information on intended rotation. We believe rotating an auditor on a relatively frequent basis (e.g. every 5-10 years) helps to ensure a fresh pair of eyes are examining the accounts, and follows best practice. (five resolutions)

We voted against the proposed employee stock ownership plan at Midea as we believe non-executive director involvement could lead to conflict of interest and would not be in shareholders' interest. (three resolutions)

We voted against the recasting of votes for the supervisory council at RaiaDrogasil as we believe the principle of recasting votes for an amended slate is poor practice and would prefer the slate be resubmitted for voting. (one resolution)

We voted against the establishment of a supervisory council and cumulative voting at TOTVS as no detail on the candidates was provided. (two resolutions)

We voted against recasting and cumulative voting at WEG as this would allow the board to make changes without shareholder assessment or knowledge of candidates. (three resolutions)

We abstained from voting on requests for a separate board election and the election of a Supervisory Council position at WEG due to insufficient information and our preference for the current family stewards to remain in place. (two resolutions)

We voted against a shareholder proposal regarding board declassification at EPAM Systems as we do not deem it necessary for all directors to stand for election annually and believe this could destabilise the board by allowing excessive turnover. (one resolution)

Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Proxy voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.

Proxy voting: Q1 2024

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability proxy voting: 1 January - 31 March 2024

Proxy voting by country of origin

Proxy voting by proposal category

During the quarter there were 168 resolutions from 18 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against 8 resolutions.

We voted against a Board appointment at Banco Bradesco as we would encourage the appointment of more external independent Directors. We also voted against an increase in Authorised Capital as we found the proposed dilution to be overly high, and voted against requests for cumulative voting and to recast votes for an amendment on the day of voting. (five resolutions)

We voted against excessive executive remuneration at Bank Central Asia. (one resolution)

We voted against an adjustment of the Guarantee for Controlled Subsidiaries Assets Pool Business at Midea as we found the guarantee amount to be excessive and not in shareholders' best interests. (one resolution)

We voted against a Board appointment at Samsung Electronics as we would prefer to see more independent, non-family associated Directors. (one resolution)

Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Proxy voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.

Proxy voting: Q4 2023

Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability proxy voting: 1 October - 31 December 2023

Proxy voting by country of origin

Proxy voting by proposal category

During the quarter there were 46 resolutions from 8 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we didn't vote against any resolutions and abstained from one resolution.

We abstained from voting on the approval of a renewed liability insurance for Directors, Supervisors, and Senior Management at Midea Group as we did not have sufficient information on the details of the insurance policy at the time of voting. (One resolution)  

Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Proxy voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.

Portfolio Explorer

If you are unable to view the portfolio explorer, please re-open in Google Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari or Opera. IE11 is not supported.

For illustrative purposes only. Reference to the names of example company names mentioned in this communication is merely for explaining the investment strategy and should not be construed as investment advice or investment recommendation of those companies. Companies mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of Stewart Investors. Holdings are subject to change.

Certain statements, estimates, and projections in this document may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Stewart Investors’ current assumptions and beliefs, in light of currently available information, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual actions or results may differ materially from those discussed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. There is no certainty that current conditions will last, and Stewart Investors undertakes no obligation to correct, revise or update information herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Source: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. Securities mentioned are all investee companies* from representative Asia Pacific Sustainability Strategy, Asia Pacific & Japan Sustainability Strategy, Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability Strategy, European Sustainability Strategy, European (ex UK) Sustainability Strategy, Global Emerging Markets (ex China) Leaders Sustainability Strategy, Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability Strategy, Global Emerging Markets Sustainability Strategy, Indian Subcontinent Sustainability Strategy, Worldwide Sustainability Strategy and Worldwide Leaders Sustainability Strategy accounts as at 30 September 2024. *Assets that the strategies may hold which an active decision has not been made, and sustainability assessment does not apply, include cash, cash equivalents, short-term holdings for the purpose of efficient portfolio management and holdings received as a result of mandatory corporate actions. Holdings of such assets will not appear on Portfolio Explorer.

The Stewart Investors supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The full list of SDGs can be found on the United Nations website.

Source for Climate Solutions and impact figures: © 2014–2024 Project Drawdown (drawdown.org). Source for Human Development Pillars: Stewart Investors investment team.

Source for climate solutions and human development analysis and mapping: Stewart Investors investment team. Contributions are defined by the team as demonstrable contributions to any solution, either direct (directly attributable to products, services or practices provided by that company), or enabling (supported or made possible by products or technologies provided by that company).

Investment terms

View our list of investment terms to help you understand the terminology within this document.

Fund prices and details

Click on the links below to access key facts, literature, performance and portfolio information for the funds and share classes available in this jurisdiction:

Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Fund

Overview of Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Fund performance

Fund name Fund type Currency Price Daily change Price date Factsheet
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class A (Acc) OEIC GBP 577.68 -0.82 12 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class B (Acc) OEIC GBP 657.30 -0.82 12 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class B (Inc) OEIC GBP 107.94 -0.82 12 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class B (Acc) OEIC USD 107.84 -1.30 12 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class I (Acc) Irish UCITs USD 27.40 -1.25 11 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class III (Acc) Irish UCITs USD 36.75 -1.25 11 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class I (Acc) Irish UCITs EUR 11.25 -0.27 11 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class VI (Acc) Irish UCITs EUR 11.69 -0.27 11 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class VI (Dist) Irish UCITs EUR 10.93 -0.27 11 Nov 2024
Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Class VI (Acc) Irish UCITs GBP 10.41 -0.65 11 Nov 2024

Share prices are calculated on a forward pricing basis which means that the price at which you buy or sell will be calculated at the next valuation point after the transaction is placed. Where a fund price is marked XD, this means that the fund is currently Ex-Dividend. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The value of shares and income from them may go down as well as up and is not guaranteed. Please note that the yield quoted above is not the historic yield. It is considered that the yield quoted represents the current position of investments, income and expenses in the fund and that this is a more accurate figure. Investors may be subject to tax on their distribution. The yield is not guaranteed or representative of future yields. You should be aware that any currency movements could affect the value of your investment. The Funds within the First Sentier Investors Global Umbrella Fund plc (Irish VCC) are denominated in USD or EUR.