This Fund Focuses on Stable Growers and Opportunistic Names

Andrew Daniels: ClearBridge Large Cap Growth has posted great returns in recent years, and is on our radar. The fund is managed by Peter Bourbeau and Margaret Vitrano, both of whom have been with ClearBridge affiliates since the 1990s. The managers look for dominant firms with high levels of innovation that can generate strong free cash flow over the long term. 

They invest across the growth spectrum, which should help the fund in different market environments. The bulk of assets are in stable growth names with solid returns on invested capital and high free cash flow such as Alphabet, Disney, and Home Depot. About 30% of assets are in faster growing names that are sometimes trading at higher valuations such as Amazon and Facebook. The remainder of assets are in more cyclical and opportunistic names such as Schlumberger and Grainger. 

Once the managers buy, they hold on for the long term. The approach has worked out for them, as the fund's annualized gain of 16% during the past five years beat the Russell 1000 Growth Index's 13.6% gain and 99% of its large-growth peers.