Business drivers, cash flow the key elements of value creation – Loomis, Sayles & Company

As bottom-up stock pickers, focusing in on the drivers of a company’s value creation, its final outcome are far more important than sectoral or macro themes, says Hollie Briggs, product manager of the Loomis Sayles US Equity Leaders Fund.

Speaking at the Portfolio Adviser Summer Congress 2015, Briggs explained that while the fund is strictly bottom up in its approach, it doesn’t mean that it sticks its head in the sand when it comes to macro factors. Rather, it looks to connect the dots from its bottom up research.

Currently, for example, it is heavily overweight information technology, but Briggs said: “We are not making a statement about information technology. We look at companies in terms of the business drivers to which it is exposed. For example, Amazon’s primary business driver is the growth in e-commerce, while Visa’s would be the transition from cash to digital. Within information technology, we own 14 companies but they are exposed to nine different business drivers.”

Loomis, Sayles & Company is an affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management.

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