European equity
A philosophy and process designed to find the opportunities in Europe most likely to produce attractive returns for investors, while making a positive contribution to society
Investment philosophy
As pragmatic investors, we take a holistic view on the business cycle, evaluating the current environment and how it may change. This allows us to start identifying the type of stocks that would be most suited to do well currently.
Coupled with this, we take a contrarian view – we pride ourselves in thinking differently about the stocks that would do well in the evolving European environment.
We aim to construct a portfolio offering compelling exposure to some of the most interesting investment themes in the stock market – such as decarbonisation and the post-pandemic recovery – at appealing valuations through well-run, attractive franchises.
Investment process
We aim to identify stocks that suit six key tenets derived from our investment philosophy:
- Contrarianism: stocks should present something different to the rest of the market that would position them well for the changing environment
- Strong management team: businesses with experienced management who are well-incentivised and aligned to the business objectives
- Attractive valuations: we look for good opportunities with that do not cost our investors too much
- Business cycle: is the market, economic and investment environment likely to favour the company?
- Robust franchises: strong businesses with solid business models that are built to last for the long term
- Contribution to society: we aim to find businesses that make a positive contribution to society
"This is an opportunity to invest in attractive European franchises with differentiated characteristics. Our unconstrained approach means we are not bound to any one style; rather, we seek the best stocks across the broad spectrum of European stocks that suit the investment philosophy."
James Sym, Portfolio Manager, PVT Equities
Hear direct from the portfolio manager
Investment Week webinar:
European equities
In this webinar from March 2021, Investment Week's Katrina Lloyd talks all things European equities with River and Mercantile's James Sym, alongside Richard Philbin from Wellian Investments and Daniel Vaughan from Morningstar.
Funds
You can access our European equity strategy through the following fund:
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Investment Team
James Sym
Portfolio Manager, PVT Equities
James Sym
Portfolio Manager, PVT Equities
James graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Natural Sciences. James joined Cazenove Capital in 2007 as a graduate trainee in Wealth Management before moving to work on the Pan European desk in 2008, initially on the UK desk. In 2012 he launched the Cazenove European Income fund as co-manager and, following the Schroders acquisition of Cazenove in 2013, was appointed manager of a number of continental and pan European equity products ultimately managing over £2bn of client assets as well as forming the specialist European equity team at Schroders. He joined River and Mercantile in June 2020 and is a member of the PVT equity team with responsibility for the European franchise.
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