Brown Advisory, a global investment management and strategic advisory firm with $128.4billion* in client assets, today announced the launch of the Brown Advisory Sustainable Value Fund (tickers: BISVX, BASVX). The Fund seeks to invest in large market capitalization companies that exhibit durable fundamentals and capital discipline, that are deemed undervalued by the portfolio manager, and that satisfy the Fund’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) criteria. Investments will be evaluated on both fundamental and ESG factors to identify high quality securities with sustainable cash flow advantages.
The Fund joins Brown Advisory’s suite of institutional sustainable strategies, which comprise over $22.9 billion* of assets under management. Investment analysis and fundamental research will be integrated with ESG risk evaluation to identify businesses that have a sustainable cash flow advantage versus their competitors. These companies possess sustainable strategies or attributes that have the potential to drive ESG outcomes that impact company culture, operational excellence, and/or recurring revenue.
With increasing demand for investment decisions to incorporate ESG research, there is currently a vacuum at the intersection between sustainability and value. There is room in the market for a strategy that pinpoints those companies traditionally perceived as ‘value stocks’ where we believe investors can benefit from a compelling sustainability journey.
The Fund will be managed by Michael Poggi. Mr. Poggi joined Brown Advisory as an equity analyst in 2003, and has since covered a wide range of sectors with a primary focus on value investment opportunities. He will be supported by a large and diverse team of sector specialists and ESG experts including Director of Equity ESG research and strategy, Katherine Kroll.
“The Sustainable Value Fund is unique because it combines Brown Advisory’s expertise in sustainable research with our years of experience in large cap and value investing,” said Michael Poggi, CFA. “We believe that this approach allows us to uncover undervalued companies that others may overlook. We believe that the result of integrating our fundamental research with an ESG lens, utilizing our extensive and diverse team of analysts, will drive our ability to deliver returns for our investors.”
“When assessing a company from an ESG lens, we seek to understand both a company’s management of its risks, but also its ability to execute on ESG opportunities,” said Katherine Kroll. “Specifically, within our Large-Cap Sustainable Value strategy, we look for companies with what we call “sustainable cash flow advantages” which can be identified through sustainable drivers tied to people, process and/or products.”
Brown Advisory has been committed to sustainable investing and active portfolio management through bottom-up research for more than a decade. We believe the Fund will complement the firm’s current offerings and provide clients with a product that meets the growing demand for large cap, value focused, sustainable investment options.
*AUM figures stated as at 01/31/2023
About Michael Poggi
Mike is the portfolio manager for the Large-Cap Sustainable Value Strategy. He joined Brown Advisory in 2003 as an equity research analyst and has covered multiple sectors and industries with a primary focus on value companies across the market cap spectrum. For the past 13 years, Mike has also been dedicated to the Small-Cap Fundamental Value strategy as an associate portfolio manager while covering the industrial, material and energy sectors.
About Brown Advisory
Brown Advisory is an independent investment management and strategic advisory firm committed to delivering a combination of first-class performance, strategic advice and the highest level of client service with offices in Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Delaware, Frankfurt, London, Nashville, New York, North Carolina, San Francisco, Singapore, Southern California, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The firm’s institutional and private clients are based in 50 states and more than 44 countries and territories and are served by over 800 colleagues worldwide, all of whom are equity owners of the firm.
Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.
Investments in American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. The Fund’s investments in convertible securities may subject the Fund to the risks that prevailing interest rates, issuer credit quality and any call provisions may affect the value of the Fund’s convertible securities. The Fund uses various strategies to attempt to minimize the impact of changes in the value of a currency against the U.S. dollar. These strategies may not always be successful. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks, certain of which are described elsewhere in this section, such as leverage risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and general market risks. The Fund is new and has limited operating history.
Investing in securities that meet ESG criteria may result in the fund forgoing otherwise attractive opportunities, which may result in underperformance when compared to funds that do not consider ESG factors.
Before investing, you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the summary or statutory prospectus. A copy of which can be obtained by calling 1-800-540-6807 or visiting the Fund’s website, www.brownadvisoryfunds.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
