BNY Mellon Global Stock - Y DGLYX

Walter Scott Global Equity remains one of the best in the business, with a highly stable and experienced team taking a long-term approach that requires patience. Notwithstanding recent headwinds, we view this fund as a solid choice for growth-oriented global equities exposure. Walter Scott’s investment team is guided by a now five-member investment executive group, with Fraser Fox and Max Skorniakov, who both started in 2003, joining the committee in 2022. Former co-head of research Alex Torrens has moved to Walter Scott’s Boston office as head of North America, a client-facing role leaving the recently promoted Alan Lander as sole head of research. He leads a well-resourced group of close to 20 analysts with specific geographic coverage. Another former co-head of research, Alan Edington, is taking the lead on responsible investment. The team is highly impressive and experienced, and culture is a key strength as more than half the team members have spent their careers with the Edinburgh-based firm. The group is particularly collaborative as portfolio decisions require unanimous team agreement. We think its high-quality research and sound culture prevent groupthink, although at times the team has been slow in exiting stocks that have disappointed; Reckitt Benckiser, Johnson & Johnson, and Colgate-Palmolive are recent illustrations. The team searches for stocks that can provide a 20% plus cash flow return on investment. It leads to a concentrated portfolio with a growth tilt that is currently between 40 and 60 stocks. Turnover is low, with only a handful of changes over 2023. With a focus on investing for the long term, the portfolio consistently favors healthcare and discretionary names while being underweight in financial services and energy. As a long-term investor, Walter Scott has not aggressively chased the market darlings of 2023. Over the past few years it has been competitive against its peers, but it remains behind its MSCI World Index benchmark. The approach is not nimble, so short-term market pivots will affect performance. This is not uncommon. We remain confident the strategy is well-positioned, having a focus on quality with a growth tilt, to rebound over time as it has previously. With a low-turnover approach matched with long-term thinking, there is much to like, but fees for some share classes could be more competitive.