Insights

Memorandum Addressing Current Market Environment

July 16, 2024 – On June 9 2024, Roger Federer gave an insightful graduation speech at Dartmouth College: “In tennis, perfection is impossible…in the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches… Now, I have a question for all of you… what percentage of the POINTS do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. When you lose every second point, on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think: OK, I double-faulted. It’s only a point. OK, I came to the net and I got passed again. It’s only a point… Here’s why I am telling you this. When you’re playing a point, it is the most important thing in the world. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you… This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point… and the next one after that… with intensity, clarity and focus… You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That to me is the sign of a champion… You move on. Be relentless. Adapt and grow. Work harder. Work smarter.

In investing, as in tennis, perfection is impossible. We encountered this truism with humility this quarter. Since inception of the Global Equity strategy in November 2010 there have been 105 months of rolling 5-year periods, and prior to the second quarter of 2024 the strategy had outperformed the MSCI ACWI Index (ACWI) in 100% of those periods (net of all fees, see chart below). What made this feat so notable was the fact that it was accomplished despite the significant regional (U.S. > Non-U.S.) and style (Growth > Value) headwinds over the last decade.

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