357. Why this global manager is underweight the US

We explore how valuation-driven investment strategies are navigating today’s turbulent global markets. Bertrand Cliquet, co-manager on the Lazard Global Equity Franchise fund, explains why the portfolio has a significant underweight to the US, the impact of geopolitical uncertainty, and how tariffs are reshaping global economic dynamics. The interview covers their disciplined approach to stock selection, the importance of predictability in earnings, and how behavioural biases are mitigated through a rigorous peer-review process. We also explore current regional opportunities, with Europe and the UK providing fertile ground for value investors.

What’s covered in this episode: 

• Why the fund is underweight US
• Continued uncertainty in the US market 
• Taking into account tariffs
• Investing for a realistic but conservative scenario
• The fund’s “peer review” process
• Why the fund holds only 25 stocks today
• Where value opportunities lie today 
• How tariffs have impacted the portfolio so far
• Avoiding behavioural traps
• What does “franchise” mean in the context of this fund?
• Does macro come into stock selection?

More about the fund: The Lazard Global Equity Franchise fund has a very similar philosophy to some of the most successful funds in its sector, but with a very different resultant portfolio. The fund is also differentiated by the managers' systematic approach to portfolio construction, which means that behavioural biases should be removed.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.