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Worldwide Leaders
The strategy was launched in November 2013. It invests in the shares of between 30-60 global companies.
A Leaders strategy generally invests in market leading companies which means, for this strategy, that they are valued at over US$5 billion.
You can see all of the companies that this strategy invests in by filtering on our Portfolio Explorer tool.
- We define investment risk as losing clients’ money – this means we focus on looking after your money as well as growing it
- Companies must contribute to sustainable development and make a positive impact towards a more sustainable future. 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 >
Quarterly updates
Strategy update: Q3 2024
Worldwide Leaders strategy update: 1 July - 30 September 2024
We bought one new company during the quarter. Rentokil Initial (United Kingdom: Industrials) is a global leader in pest control services, a necessary and critical health and hygiene service to secure homes, hospitals and businesses against disease and damage.
Its business model is local in nature and generates lots of income through resilient and regular, repeating sales. The management team is focused on growth by increasing the density of its route network to drive improvements in profitability and earnings.
During the quarter we sold completely out of four companies as we grew concerned about their ability to grow their end customer markets. These include: Midea (China: Consumer Discretionary) which makes home appliances for the Chinese market; Infineon Technologies (Germany: Information Technology) which makes semiconductors for electric vehicle and renewable energy markets; Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan: Information Technology) which makes equipment to generate, detect and filter light for scanners, x-ray machines and automation devices such as barcode readers; and Graco (United States: Industrials) which specialises in paint sprayers and products that manage corrosive and other difficult-to-handle fluids.
We are always looking at new companies and recently visited Sweden to meet with some new and some old businesses, including Atlas Copco (Sweden: Industrials), the world's leading manufacturer of air compressors, which is held in the strategy. The opportunity to meet with company management on their ‘home turf’ is invaluable; it is much easier to get a sense of how culture and people have shaped a company and its future return profile when sitting within their offices; or, in the case of Atlas Copco, 20 metres below their office in a test mine. We continue to find excellent investment ideas by focussing on the impact that outstanding people can have on businesses with strong business franchises and resilient financials.