| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 11.6% | - | 15.2% |
| 2025 |
|---|
| 15.2% |
The Global Leaders Strategy delivered strong absolute returns of 15.2% in 2025 but trailed the benchmark due to underperformance in financials and information technology sectors. The strategy maintains its focus on high-quality companies with superior customer outcomes and pricing power. AI dominated much of the investment narrative in 2025, with the manager investing across all four layers of the AI tech stack through companies like Microsoft, Alphabet, TSMC, and ASML. The portfolio saw significant activity with 4 new entrants and 9 exits, including strategic moves in credit bureaus by adding Equifax and Experian while exiting positions in Marvell Technology and Adobe due to valuation and risk concerns. Supply-side competition remains the biggest risk, particularly evident in AI where disruption potential exceeds current adoption. The opportunity set appears broad with potential investments across multiple sectors. Expected base case IRR is just over 10% on a 5-year view, with the strategy maintaining its time arbitrage approach and valuation discipline.
The Global Leaders Strategy focuses on delivering attractive long-term performance by investing in a concentrated portfolio of companies that can uniquely solve a problem for their customers and generate attractive economics for shareholders through superior customer outcomes, pricing power, and high recurring revenue while requiring low financial leverage.
Today our expectation of the average base case Internal Rate of Return within Global Leaders is just over 10% on a 5-year view on top of the gains of the past 3 years. The opportunity set looks broad right now with multiple potential new investments across consumer discretionary, insurance, industrial aftermarkets, software and semiconductors.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26 2026 | 2025 Q4 | ADBE, ALLE, ASML, AZO, EFX, EXPN.L, GE, GOOG, ILMN, LSEG.L, MA, MRVL, MSFT, ROG.SW, RTO.L, TSM, V, WDAY, WKL.AS, ZTS | AI, Data, global, infrastructure, Quality, technology | - | AI is incredibly fast moving with innovations from DeepSeek in China to chain of experts and reasoning models becoming default standards. The potential for disruption… |
| Nov 8 2025 | 2025 Q3 | ALLE, ASML, BBCA IJ, GE, GOOG, INTU, LSEG LN, MRVL, TSM, WDAY, WKL NA | GLP-1 |
TSLA BBCA IJ WDAY |
The strategy underperformed due to not owning leading AI beneficiaries such as NVIDIA, Broadcom, and Oracle during an AI-driven rally. The letter provides extensive evaluation… |
| Aug 27 2025 | 2025 Q2 | AZO, COLOB DC, EXPN LN, GE, ILMN, INTU, MSFT, PBRI IJ, RHHBY, TSM, ZTS | Capital Allocation, downside protection, global franchises, IRR, Quality | - | The commentary emphasizes investing in a concentrated set of global franchises with strong customer outcomes and durable economics. Downside protection, disciplined capital allocation, and long-term… |
| May 22 2025 | 2025 Q1 | ABNB, AMZN, BKNG, GE, GOOG, LSEG LN, SHW, ZM | - | - | - |
| Dec 31 2024 | 2024 Q4 | 1299 HK, AZO, B3SA3 BZ, BKRKY, EL, HDB, NVDA, RTO LN, ZTS | - | - | - |
| Sep 30 2024 | 2024 Q3 | - | - | - | - |
| Jun 30 2024 | 2024 Q2 | - | - | - | - |
| Mar 31 2024 | 2024 Q1 | - | - | - | - |
| Jan 17 2024 | 2023 Q4 | - | - | - | - |
| Aug 14 2023 | 2023 Q2 | - | - | - | - |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 |
AIThe extended federal government shutdown added volatility during what was otherwise a risk-on environment, with a mid-quarter shift in market behavior for AI-related equities as the exuberant narrative evolved to one more balanced in assessing the technology's enormous potential against staggering capital spending plans and high expectations. The team initiated a position in Credo Technology as a more diversified way to gain exposure to strong trends in AI-connectivity. |
Connectivity Semiconductors Infrastructure Capital Spending |
DataData and information service providers face hypothetical challenges focused on AI's potential to change competitive dynamics, leading to valuation de-rating despite solid operating results. Companies like Experian and LSEG have proprietary datasets that cannot be easily replicated by AI, with deep regulatory moats and embedded customer relationships providing protection. |
Data Analytics Information Services Proprietary Data Credit Bureaus Financial Data | |
QualityThe portfolio has shifted toward higher quality businesses with better profitability, lower leverage, and less volatile earnings. Quality stocks underperformed significantly in 2025, creating attractive entry points for value investors. The manager maintains price discipline while seeking quality companies trading at discounts to intrinsic value. |
Quality Profitability Leverage Earnings | |
| 2025 Q3 |
AIThe extended federal government shutdown added volatility during what was otherwise a risk-on environment, with a mid-quarter shift in market behavior for AI-related equities as the exuberant narrative evolved to one more balanced in assessing the technology's enormous potential against staggering capital spending plans and high expectations. The team initiated a position in Credo Technology as a more diversified way to gain exposure to strong trends in AI-connectivity. |
Connectivity Semiconductors Infrastructure Capital Spending |
| 2025 Q2 |
QualityThe portfolio has shifted toward higher quality businesses with better profitability, lower leverage, and less volatile earnings. Quality stocks underperformed significantly in 2025, creating attractive entry points for value investors. The manager maintains price discipline while seeking quality companies trading at discounts to intrinsic value. |
Quality Profitability Leverage Earnings |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 8, 2025 | Fund Letters | Mick Dillon, Bertie Thomson | TSLA | Tesla, Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | Electric vehicles & energy platform | Bull | NASDAQ | Autonomy, Electric Vehicles, energy storage, growth, operating leverage, robotics, valuation, vertical integration | Login |
| Nov 8, 2025 | Fund Letters | Mick Dillon, Bertie Thomson | BBCA IJ | PT Bank Central Asia Tbk | Other | Indonesian retail & commercial banking | Bull | NYSE | credit quality, digital banking, dividends, Emerging markets, loan growth, low-cost deposits, retail banking, ROE | Login |
| Nov 8, 2025 | Fund Letters | Mick Dillon, Bertie Thomson | WDAY | Workday, Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bull | NASDAQ | AI, Cloud software, financial management, Free Cash Flow, Human capital management, operating leverage, recurring revenue, SaaS | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| ADBE | By looking at their Rnancials, FactSet, PayPal, Adobe, and Salesforce seem to be doing Rne. The market, however, is reading subdued revenue growth as a sign of increased competition on their core oSerings. These companies' outlooks look more di'cult than their past. |
| ASML | ASML, TSMC, and Arista Networks are key players in the AI build out supply chain. |
| AZO | We initiated two new positions during the year—Greggs and AJ Bell, whilst reducing our exposure to NEXT and Compass Group; and selling out of AutoZone entirely during September. |
| EFX | We divested our position in Equifax during the quarter following a strategic shift by FICO, a leading provider of credit scores to the mortgage industry. FICO announced plans to sell its credit scores directly to mortgage underwriters, bypassing the credit bureaus and thereby pressuring the economics that EFX has historically captured in the credit-scoring value chain. |
| EXPN.L | Experian's shares were -1% in 2025. Consistent with much of the rest of the portfolio, operating results remain solid. The company will almost certainly report double-digit growth in earnings for 2025, and the company has met or exceeded investors' expectations for the year. The challenges have not so much been financial but hypothetical – focussed on AI's potential to change competitive dynamics in their industry. Experian is valued on a prospective 4.5% equity FCF yield. We have added to the Strategy's investments this year. |
| GE | For insight into the real economy operating beneath this AI and data center boom, we must look elsewhere within the S&P 500, including bellwethers like General Electric |
| GOOG | Alphabet's Q4 performance marks a significant triumph, characterized by a rare beat and raise narrative across all critical business segments. The company's recent earnings report was driven by a balanced contribution from its legacy Search and YouTube divisions, with Google Cloud emerging as the standout performer. Cloud's revenue growth reached an impressive 34%, and it boasts an extraordinary $155 billion backlog, a nearly double increase compared to the previous quarter. This remarkable transformation has propelled Cloud from a margin drag to a high-octane profit center. |
| ILMN | Illumina, with almost 70% market share in gene sequencing, has weathered a storm of life science funding cuts and competitive entries. While the coast is not completely clear, they remain well positioned to benefit from any acceleration in both clinical and research spending in the life-sciences. |
| LSEG.L | LSEG's shares were -20%. They are therefore illustrative of companies that have held back the Strategy's returns this year. Consistent with much of the rest of the portfolio, operating results remain solid. The company will almost certainly report double-digit growth in earnings for 2025, and the company has met or exceeded investors' expectations for the year. The challenges have not so much been financial but hypothetical – focussed on AI's potential to change competitive dynamics in their industry. LSEG is at 6.1% FCF yield. We have added to the Strategy's investments this year. |
| MA | The enduring appeal of card payments is their universality. Consumers trust that Visa and Mastercard will be accepted globally. After more than 20 years of litigation, Visa and Mastercard agreed to yet another settlement that gives merchants greater flexibility |
| MRVL | We also initiated a position in Marvell Technology which is a fabless semiconductor company that supplies technology necessary to move, store, process and secure data across various end-markets such as data centers, enterprise networks and telecommunications infrastructure. We believe the risk/reward looks compelling and we elected to start a position on the stock's recent pullback. |
| MSFT | MSFT was a detractor in 4Q25 following its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings report released on October 29. While results were better than expected operationally, investor reaction was driven by guidance and capital expenditure intensity rather than headline performance. Revenue grew 17% year-over-year, exceeding consensus expectations, and Azure revenue increased 39% year-over-year, also ahead of estimates. However, management guided to a sequential deceleration in Azure growth in fiscal Q2, signaling some moderation after a period of exceptional demand. |
| ROG.SW | Holdings such as Roche, Novartis, and Ionis Pharmaceuticals benefited from new drug approvals, steady and growing earnings, and business models that continue to generate cash through a wide range of economic conditions. We also trimmed several larger holdings, including Roche, Novartis, Safran, and TotalEnergies, whose stock prices had approached underlying intrinsic value. |
| RTO.L | We also hold a number of positions whose fundamentals strengthened even though their market prices remained essentially unchanged for the year. This includes our positions in Amazon (AMZN), Rentokil (RTO), Ag Growth (AFN), EPAM and Grifols (GRFS). That widening gap between intrinsic value and market price strengthens our conviction and positions us well for when fundamentals ultimately assert themselves. |
| TSM | ASML, TSMC, and Arista Networks are key players in the AI build out supply chain. |
| V | We added to our holdings in Visa Inc. |
| WDAY | Finally, we have exited our relatively small position in Workday. The company's growth has decelerated the past few quarters and the Financials segment of the business (~25% of sales) is growing slower than we believe it should be. This is a company we may revisit at a later date but, for now, feel that we have better opportunities in other areas of the portfolio. |
| WKL.AS | Wolters Kluwer is the leader in technical publishing used by professionals in health, tax, accounting, risk & compliance and legal. It seems to have become viewed as an AI disruption victim but this seems about as true as the now discredited view that Adobe and Intuit were AI beneficiaries. |
| ZTS | ZTS: $6B authorized August 2024; $1.5B used as of September 2025 |
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Bought | Shares Bought | % Change | Weight % |
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| Industry | Prev Quarter % | Current Quarter % | Change |
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