The Long View: Global Equity Positioning in Uncertain Markets | EP 188

Art of Boring

In this episode, global equity co-manager, Manar Hassan-Agha, examines how tariff policies have created uncertainty for businesses, particularly impacting capital deployment decisions and supply chains. Manar explains how a focus on asset-light, service-oriented businesses with recurring revenue provides resilience during volatile periods, with limited direct exposure to tariff-vulnerable exports. Through specific company examples like Admiral Group, UnitedHealth, and a beauty products business, he illustrates how the team evaluates short-term price movements versus long-term intrinsic value, emphasizing the importance of disciplined position sizing and maintaining a balanced, diversified portfolio across geographies and market caps during uncertain times.

• Recent tariff policies have created uncertainty for businesses, affecting capital deployment decisions and generating both direct impacts and second-order effects on consumer spending
• The Global Equity Portfolio has limited direct exposure to tariff-vulnerable exports, with a preference for asset-light, service-oriented businesses with recurring revenue
• Short-term price movements often contain significant randomness, highlighting the importance of focusing on long-term business fundamentals rather than reacting to news flow
• Market volatility can create investment opportunities, particularly in companies with temporarily impacted profitability but intact long-term earnings power
• Maintaining portfolio balance and diversification across quality factors, valuations, geographies and market caps remains essential during uncertain times

Host: Rob Campbell, CFA, Mawer Institutional Portfolio Manager Guest: Manar Hassan-Agha, CFA, Mawer Portfolio Manager

This episode is available for download anywhere you get your podcasts.

Founded in 1974, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. (pronounced "more") is a privately owned independent investment firm managing assets for institutional and individual investors. Mawer employs over 250 people in Canada, U.S., and Singapore.

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