September, 2022
The Fund fell 0.80% (net of fees) over the September quarter, outperforming the benchmark as measured by the (MSCI World ESG Leaders Index (AUD)) which in comparison fell 1.11% over the quarter.
Stock selection was the main detractor across region/sectors, with Continental Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom showing the most weakness. The New Zealand & Canada region was the sole positive contributor. From a sector perspective, Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary were the largest detractors while Industrials added to value. Regional allocation effects were effectively neutral. The global stock selection model produced positive results in Sentiment and Alternatives, but was negative across Valuation for the quarter. Across the Valuation Dimension, negative results were driven by Value factors which more than offset positive performance from Cash Flow factors. Sentiment Dimension results were strong across factors, led by Earnings Growth factor results. Behavioural and Expectations factors were also positive. The Alternative Dimension added value as well.
At month end, the Fund was attractively valued with a lower 12-month forward PE than the benchmark. The Fund was well diversified across regions and sectors. The largest region overweight was to Continental Europe, and the largest underweight was to Japan. The Fund was most overweight in Industrials and most underweight in Materials.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fund-commentary-franklin-global-responsible-investment-au-1.pdfJune, 2022
The Fund fell 6.06% (net of fees) over the June quarter, outperforming the benchmark as measured by the (MSCI World ESG Leaders Index (AUD)) which in comparison fell 8.06% over the quarter.
Stock selection added the most value across region/sectors, with the United States being the main contributor as the Consumer Discretionary sector showed the most strength. Continental Europe and Japan also added value, but New Zealand & Canada and the United Kingdom detracted. From a sector perspective, Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services were strongest while Real Estate was the largest detractor. Regional allocation effects were positive with overweight to U.K. being the largest contributor. The global stock selection model was positive for the quarter, despite some weakness in June especially in the Valuation and Alternative dimensions. For the full quarter, the Valuation dimension results were positive with both value and cash flow factors adding value. The Sentiment dimension was mixed; behavioural factors were strong, earnings growth factors added modest value and expectations factors detracted. The impact of the Alternative Dimension was negative.
At month end, the Fund was attractively valued with a lower 12-month forward PE than the benchmark. The Fund was well diversified across regions and sectors. The largest region overweight was to United Kingdom, and the largest underweight was to Japan. The portfolio was most overweight in Information technology and most underweight in Banks.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fund-commentary-franklin-global-responsible-investment-au.pdfOctober, 2021
The Fund underperformed the MSCI World Index, on a net of fees basis, in the third quarter of 2021, retuning 3.43% Stock selection detracted for the month. Selection within the U.K. and Continental Europe were the top detractors. Within Continental Europe, selection in the Information Technology and Industrials sectors were poor. Across other regions selection in the Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, Japan, and the U.S. was negative, but positive across the Asia Developed ex Japan region. From a sector perspective, selection was weak across Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, and Financials ex Banks. The impact of region and sector allocation decisions was flat.
At quarter end, the Fund was attractively valued with a lower 12-month forward PE than the benchmark. The Fund was well diversified across regions and sectors. The largest region overweight was to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada and the largest underweight was to the U.S. From a sector perspective, the Fund was most overweight in Financials ex Banks and most underweight in Utilities
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fund-commentary-franklin-global-systematic-equity-au-2.pdfSeptember, 2021
The Fund underperformed the MSCI World Index, on a net of fees basis, in the third quarter of 2021, retuning 3.43% Stock selection detracted for the month. Selection within the U.K. and Continental Europe were the top detractors. Within Continental Europe, selection in the Information Technology and Industrials sectors were poor. Across other regions selection in the Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, Japan, and the U.S. was negative, but positive across the Asia Developed ex Japan region. From a sector perspective, selection was weak across Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, and Financials ex Banks. The impact of region and sector allocation decisions was flat.
At quarter end, the Fund was attractively valued with a lower 12-month forward PE than the benchmark. The Fund was well diversified across regions and sectors. The largest region overweight was to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada and the largest underweight was to the U.S. From a sector perspective, the Fund was most overweight in Financials ex Banks and most underweight in Utilities.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fund-commentary-lm-qs-global-responsible-investment-4.pdfJuly, 2021
The Fund returned 3.46% during June, and 9.79% for the quarter. Stock selection detracted value for the month. Selection within the U.S. was notably weak, especially in the Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Banks sectors. Selection was also weak in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, but mostly flat across other regions.
From a sector perspective, selection was weak virtually across the board, mainly in the Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology sectors. The impact of region and sector allocation decisions was essentially neutral. At month end, the Fund was attractively valued with a lower 12-month forward PE than the benchmark. The Fund was well diversified across regions and sectors. The largest region overweight was to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada and the largest underweight was to the Japan. From a sector perspective, the Fund was most overweight in Health Care and most underweight in Utilities.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fund-commentary-lm-qs-global-responsible-investment-3.pdfJune, 2021
The Fund returned 3.46% during June, and 9.79% for the quarter. Stock selection detracted value for the month. Selection within the U.S. was notably weak, especially in the Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Banks sectors. Selection was also weak in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, but mostly flat across other regions. From a sector perspective, selection was weak virtually across the board, mainly in the Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology sectors. The impact of region and sector allocation decisions was essentially neutral. At month end, the Fund was attractively valued with a lower 12-month forward PE than the benchmark. The Fund was well diversified across regions and sectors. The largest region overweight was to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada and the largest underweight was to the Japan. From a sector perspective, the Fund was most overweight in Health Care and most underweight in Utilities.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fund-commentary-lm-qs-global-responsible-investment-2.pdfMay, 2021
The MSCI World Index was up in May. Markets generally rose on signs of continued economic recovery in the U.S., China and elsewhere. However, paired with this economic growth were concerns over inflation, which sparked volatility throughout the month. Whether recent inflation would be persistent or transitory was top of mind for investors as they attempted to gauge fiscal and monetary policy responses. U.S. Treasury yields decreased, but these moves were small relative to the volatility observed year-to-date; the 10-Year Treasury yield fell from 1.63 to 1.60 over the course of the month. The U.S. dollar depreciated against most major currencies, decreasing 1.6% (Dollar Index Spot). Gold rose 7.6% (AUD). The price of Crude oil (WTI) increased 4.3% (AUD), exceeding recent March highs, helped by a weaker dollar and strong demand.
The top performing sectors were Banks, Energy and Materials, with returns of 6.0%, 4.9% and 4.1%, respectively. The worst performers were Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology and Utilities, returning -1.3%, -1.2% and -1.0%, respectively
The Fund outperformed the MSCI World Index in May 2021, returning 3.28%. Stock selection added value for the month with selection effects leading the way. Selection within the U.S. was notably strong, especially in the Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Selection was also strong in continental Europe and Japan, and detracted modestly in the U.K. From a sector perspective, selection was strong virtually across the board, led by the Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology sectors. The impact of region and sector allocation decisions was essentially neutral.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fund-commentary-lm-qs-global-responsible-investment-1.pdfDecember, 2020
The Fund was -0.99% in December compared with the MSCI World Index (AUD), which fell -0.46% for the month. The Fund was up 4.7% for the December quarter while MSCI World Index (AUD) rose 5.85%. Stock selection detracted value for the month, most notably in the U.S. In the U.S. region, selection within Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, and Health Care was weak. Selection also detracted in Continental Europe and Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Selection effects were positive in Japan and the U.K. Across sectors selection was weak in Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples. Regional and sector allocation effects were flat.
At month end and quarter end, the Fund was attractively valued with a lower 12-month forward PE than the benchmark. The Fund was well diversified across regions and sectors. The largest region overweight was to the U.K. region, and the largest underweight was to Japan. The Fund was most overweight in Real Estate and most underweight in Consumer Discretionary.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fund-commentary-lm-qs-global-responsible-investment.pdfasset_class: Foreign Equity
asset_category: Large Blend - Responsible Investment
peer_benchmark: Foreign Equity - Large Responsible Index
broad_market_index: Developed -World Index
manager_contact_details: Array
ticker: SSB5738AU
release_schedule: Quarterly
commentary_block: Array
factsheet_url:
Literature
Fund Literature
Fund Commentary
fund_features:
Legg Mason QS Investors Global Responsibility Investment A aims to earn an after-fee return in excess of the MSCI ESG Leaders Index (‘Performance Benchmark’), in Australian dollars over rolling three-year periods. The Fund is an actively managed portofolio with exposure to global equities that blends fundamentally driven investment insights and advanced quantitative techniques. The investment approach seeks attractively valued companiers that also embody good and improving Environmental, Social and Goverance (ESG) practices with the aim of delivering more sustainable returns. The fund also employs an etichal screen which actively screens out companies that do not meet the Fund’s ethical investment criteria.
structure: Managed Fund