Investment Objective
The Small Cap Equity Strategy seeks long-term growth of capital by identifying companies that may benefit from secular long-term growth trends and that have market capitalizations within the range of the largest and smallest companies in the Russell 2000® Growth Index at the time of purchase.
Philosophy
We believe secular growth trends that evolve over extended periods of time (at least three to five years, but typically longer) are one of the prime drivers of long-term equity returns and that buying companies at attractive valuations can help produce long-term results.
Investment Process
Top-down approach:
- Macro review: The team conducts a top-down analysis of prevailing economic and market conditions to help drive investment themes.
- Long-term growth trends: The team identifies well-defined, measurable secular (versus cyclical) growth trends such as technological advancements, that we believe can help generate accelerated growth rates.
Bottom-up analysis:
- Fundamental analysis: The team considers corporate margin structure, margin sustainability and barriers to entry, among other factors, including competitive advantages.
- Valuation: The team’s multiple regression approach determines an estimate of fair value for each prospective holding. Inputs include, but are not limited to: company profit margin structure, growth rate and measures of balance sheet quality.
Composite assets as of 9/30/2019 for the Scout Small Cap Strategy were 505.40 million.
This material is provided for informational purposes only and contains no investment advice or recommendations to buy, sell or hold any specific securities. You should not interpret the statements in this material as investment, tax, legal, or financial planning advice. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee or indicate future results. There is no assurance the investment strategy will meet its investment objective. Graphs or other illustrations, if included, are provided for illustrative purposes only and not intended as a recommendation to buy or sell securities displaying similar characteristics. Scout Investments, and its fixed income division Reams Asset Management, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raymond James Investment Management, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc. Neither Scout Investments, its affiliates, directors, officers, employees nor agents accept any liability for any loss or damage arising out of your use of all or any part of this material. Additional information is available at
www.scoutinv.com or
www.reamsasset.com.
Investments in small-cap companies generally involve greater risks than investing in larger capitalization companies. Small-cap companies often have narrower commercial markets and more limited managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. As a result, their performance can be more volatile and they face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of a fund›s portfolio. Additionally, small-cap companies may have less market liquidity than larger companies.