Talking Global Equity with Deirdre Cooper from Ninety One

Join us for the newest episode of Behind The Screens, as Square Mile’s Associate Director of Responsible Investing, Jake Moeller, is joined by Deirdre Cooper, co-fund manager of the Ninety One Global Environment Fund.

Together, they explore how the fund is tackling global decarbonisation, the fund’s approach to thematic investing and how Deirdre and her team navigate market shifts, sector biases and stock selection. Deirdre also shares her views on where she sees the most exciting opportunities in environmental investing.

Don't have time to listen to the full episode, jump to your favourite part:

00:47 Tell us about your backstory, what drives you and why you think that decarbonisation is such an important theme?
02:43 What is the Ninety One Global Environment fund aiming to achieve for its investors and how would you articulate its process and philosophy?
05:15 Although the fund is named a thematic fund, do you have a stock picking process that underpins all of your stock selection?
06:22 How do you work with your co-manager Graeme Baker and the rest of the Ninety One team?
07:24 What do you believe are the key differentiators of your approach from your peers?
09:01 What sort of compositional biases result in this portfolio due to its thematic construct, referring to the three themed pillars in your approach?
11:38 Considering the mentioned regional and structural biases, does that mean that an investor might expect in a concentrated market driven by NVIDIA, you might not perform as well?
12:40 What is your take on the moves seen in markets this year and are you seeing a change in how the market has perceived your opportunity set?
18:43 Can you give us some stock examples in the portfolio and why you are excited about them?
22:18 What’s something you’ve sold recently, where a thesis hasn’t met your expectations?
23:06 How do you moderate cyclicality in the portfolios where exposure builds up in a sector?
24:15 Is there anything that concerns you that’s keeping you up at night?
25:08 Could you tell us a little about yourself outside of fund management, which our listeners might be interested to learn?