Thematics

Thematic equity strategies invest in stocks whose returns are influenced by structural forces of change that evolve independently of the economic cycle. In other words, the approach seeks to transform long-term technological, environmental and societal megatrends into investment opportunities.
 
We achieve this by following a disciplined investment process.

With the help of outside experts from industry and academia, such as the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, we identify the most dynamic areas of the global economy - those where megatrends are particularly influential. We have identified 14 such industries in the past 20 years, including robotics, clean energy and water - each of which are represented in our range of thematic strategies.
 

We believe Thematics are a viable alternative to mainstream global equity strategies.

Firstly, because the universe is large – there are almost as many thematic stocks as companies represented in mainstream equity indices. This means there is sufficient diversification potential.

Second, thematic companies are very focused, with ‘pure plays’ a significant part of the investible market.

Third, in many cases thematic companies are not accessible via mainstream stock indices.

This means a thematic equity portfolio bears little resemblance to standard global stock indices. This also reflects the fact that our investment teams have significant freedom in stock selection, eliminating ‘forced’ investment decisions made simply to adjust portfolio's tracking error.