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Thematic advisory boards

World-class insights: Pictet's Thematic Advisory Boards

Active Equity
Pictet’s thematic equity managers draw on the expertise of Thematic Advisory Boards to gain a distinctive perspective on the trends shaping the economy and society.
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In search of an information edge

Getting access to differentiated sources of information and insights is a critical factor in investment management. Most traditional sources of information used by portfolio managers and analysts, such as sell-side research and subscription-based data services, are largely commoditised. Which means maintaining an information edge is far from straightforward.

At Pictet Asset Management, each of our thematic equity teams secures that additional informational advantage through their own Thematic Advisory Boards (TAB). Each TAB typically consists of three members taken from the world of academia, industry and policymaking.

Each member is chosen because they possess experience and expertise that is relevant to the equity team's specific thematic investment universe. While a few TAB members may enjoy global name recognition, many are not well known outside their area of expertise. This is a deliberate choice. We choose to work with experts whose insights draw on a strong industrial or entrepreneurial track record or an impressive body of academic research. Collectively, TABs give our portfolio managers access to a diversity of opinion and insight that's is not readily available to other investment professionals.

* The Advisory Boards included are Security, Digital, Robotics, Water, Timber, Clean Energy Transition, Global Environmental Opportunities, SmartCity, Human, Nutrition, Health, Biotech, Premium Brands.

** Countries where the members of our Thematic Advisory Boards perform their main activity.

Data on this chart refer to all the Thematic Advisory Boards at Pictet Asset Management, across all thematic strategies. Source: Pictet Asset Management, January 2022

Role of Thematic Advisory Boards

The role of a TAB is not to advise on specific investment decisions; they do not help our managers chose stocks for their portfolio. Rather, TABs support investment managers by providing a wide range of relevant insights that help frame the key issues at play within a specific thematic investment universe.

TABs help track the long-term course of a theme and give specific insights on shorter-term developments, too. They provide:

  • Strategic insights：Thematic investment managers adopt a long-term focus. Our TABs contribute to maintaining that perspective by helping to track and understand relevant megatrends and helping distinguish structural shifts from short-term noise. For example, during 2020 with the COVID pandemic being potential catalyst for a number of themes, TABs were relied on to formulate hypotheses about possible lasting changes and then validate them over time. Such insights can ultimately help guide the evolution of thematic stock universes.
  • Tactical insights：TAB discussions can also center on the understanding of shorter-term drivers for certain portfolio segments. For instance, analyses of where exactly in the business cycle a specific industry segment finds itself might be provided by one of our industry experts. Similarly, feedback on how a particular shock (e.g. supply chain shortages) may be affecting specific types of companies may be sought.
  • Theme definition：Thematic portfolios are not static but rather evolve over time, with occasional repositionings. TABs play a critical role as a sounding board when structural adjustments to a theme are being considered.
  • Sustainability topics：ESG and impact topics have always played a central role in thematic portfolios. However, in this rapidly evolving field, innovation is essential. How we chose to approach emerging sustainability topics is guided by insights from our TABs.
Role of the Thematic Advisory Boards

Source: Pictet Asset Management, 2022

Our TABs hold formal meetings approximately twice a year. In many instances, those meetings will include additional guests, such as investment managers from other teams, those for whom the topics being discussed are especially relevant

The TAB meetings typically take place in our Geneva or Zurich offices. Whenever appropriate they also include virtual or hybrid formats. Occasionally, they are combined with a field trip, allowing the TAB members and investment team to gain insights from visits to industrial sites, research facilities or think tanks. For example, recently, the Clean Energy Transition TAB met in the US during a trip that included visits to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Electric Power Research Institute. The Timber TAB met in Germany during a trip that included visits of a large sawmill, a pulp mill and various forest sites.