American Century Investments and Nomura Asset Management have launched the American Century US Focused Innovation Equity UCITS, a sub-fund of Nomura Funds Ireland Plc, that is now available to investors in Europe.
This is the fourth UCITS created in collaboration with Nomura Asset Management. The new UCITS strives to provide a total return that exceeds the MSCI USA Growth Index using an investment process that identifies companies mainly in their early and rapid growth phases with significant long-term potential. The fund will invest in 30-45 companies that the team believes are positioned for sustained high growth rates over time.
The team’s rigorous fundamental research evaluates companies for:
their competitive advantage
ESG risks that may impact growth
capability for high profitability, and
opportunities for management to reinvest capital in an effort to create further scale and extend their competitive advantage.
The strategy will be managed by an experienced investment team led by American Century Investments Senior Portfolio Managers Keith Lee and Michael Li and Portfolio Managers Prabha Ram and Henry He.
Prabha Ram, Vice President and Portfolio Manager for American Century, says: “Our investment approach looks beyond short-term market fluctuations and focuses instead on businesses with enduring franchises and strong balance sheets, that we think will be able to generate attractive cash flow growth over a long time horizon. Our positioning is ultimately determined by an assessment of a company’s long-term business conditions and management’s abilities to execute on those opportunities.”
Go Hiramatsu CEO at Nomura Asset Management UK, says: “In May 2021, Nomura Asset Management and American Century Investments celebrated the five-year anniversary of its strategic partnership. This UCITS collaboration is an example of our two firms working together to find innovative products for our clients and provide a broader range of solutions to serve their strategic interests. Given high valuations, investing into US growth companies needs a rigorous selection process based on longstanding experience.”
