The new fund, which forms part of Allianz’s Luxembourg-domiciled Sicav European equity growth range, is managed using a bottom-up, fundamental stock selection approach. Holding a concentrated portfolio of around 30 to 45 stocks, Allianz said it will focus on selecting what are “considered to be the most attractive structural growth ideas from the European markets”.
To ensure the highest-conviction ideas are correspondingly weighted, Allianz said the fund will focus on stocks with a minimum market capitalization of above €5bn.
The fund’s investment philosophy is in line with the Allianz Europe Equity Growth Fund which has returned more than 100% since its launch in November 2006, against a sector average return of 30% (see chart below).
Allianz said the approach taken by Winkelmann and Born, who also run the Euroland Equity Growth Fund, is to identify stocks with structurally above-average growth of earnings and cash flow. Allianz added that the duo’s bottom-up, research-driven approach is also used to select stocks with competitive advantages and high barriers to entry.
The Allianz European equity growth team currently manages assets of almost €10bn.
Lead manager Winkelmann said: “Although one cannot ignore the macro picture, which is still rather bleak in Europe, we believe that with a robust stock picking strategy in place, aiming to identify companies with top-class corporate governance as well as the ability to grow their earnings and cash flows in an uncertain environment, this puts us in a very strong position.
“The strategy has therefore no active country allocation and the stock selection process is benchmark agnostic, also considering medium capitalized companies. The fund is true to label, is always fully invested, and does not invest in derivatives.”
