Omnis European Equity Opportunities Fund

Investment Objective

The fund aims to achieve a return consisting of both income and capital growth which, after all fees and expenses, exceeds the FTSE World Europe ex UK TR index over a five-year rolling period.

The team’s investment philosophy reflects their understanding that equity markets are both inefficient and risky. The manager believes that inefficiencies are greatest at the stock level and that over the long-term stock selection by active fund managers can add value through a disciplined, bottom-up, stock selection process and a differentiated, risk-aware, portfolio construction process.

The team follow a Growth at a Reasonable Price (GARP) investment style, looking for companies which have unrecognised growth, whilst emphasising a positive tilt towards quality characteristics. Based on this approach, investments will typically demonstrate sustainable business franchises, financial capacity and management alignment.

The portfolio managers, as the strategy’s ultimate decision makers, collaboratively evaluate ideas to include in the portfolio. In considering a recommendation, the portfolio managers will conduct analysis to understand the impact to the risk and return characteristics of the portfolio using proprietary models from their quantitative and risk teams, with exposure to a company influenced by the potential to enhance the risk and return characteristics of the existing portfolio. The fund is actively managed, and the managers have full discretion when choosing assets to invest in (in-line with the fund’s investment objectives).

Key Fund Facts

An experienced and well-resourced investment team

An experienced and well-resourced investment team, supported by specialist European investment analysts, follow a disciplined, bottom-up stock selection process, built on extensive and regular interaction with company management teams.

Extensive fundamental research

Extensive fundamental research, evaluating companies over a five-year time horizon, with a fully integrated and dynamic ESG assessment, to identify companies with unrecognised growth opportunities.

Differentiated and risk-aware

Differentiated and risk-aware portfolio construction process, backed by Barings’ in-house specialist Quantitative and Risk teams.


Investment Policy

The fund intends to invest at least 80% in the equity securities of European companies defined as those which are domiciled, incorporated or have a significant exposure to Europe, excluding the United Kingdom. The fund will adopt a flexible approach to investment, investing primarily in companies that are perceived to be undervalued relative to their economic potential. Exposure to small and medium sized companies will be greater than 50% of the fund. Small and medium sized companies are defined as those with a market cap of EUR 20 billion or less at the time of the fund’s investment. Companies whose capitalisation no longer meets this definition after investment will continue to be considered small and medium market capitalisation companies.

The fund may also invest in other transferable securities (for example, equity securities of other international companies), units in collective investment schemes (including schemes managed and operated by the ACD or its associates), money market instruments, warrants, cash, near cash and deposits as detailed in the Prospectus.

It is envisaged that the investment portfolio of the fund will be concentrated, typically comprising between 40 and 80 holdings.

Derivatives may be used for the purposes of hedging and efficient portfolio management.