Portland Global Alternative Fund
Portfolio Manager
Chris Wain-Lowe, BA, MBA
Chief Investment Officer, Executive Vice-President and Portfolio Manager
Chris Wain-Lowe has 35 years of business management and global financial services experience – living and working in four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America as well as the Caribbean, which also embraced corporate experience in the energy, natural resources and utility industries.
Portfolio Manager
Kyle Ostrander, CFA
Portfolio Manager
Kyle Ostrander is a Portfolio Manager at Portland Investment Counsel Inc. In June 2014, Kyle joined as an Investment Associate Trainee after completing his Honours Bachelor of Commerce with a Minor in Mathematics from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.
Performance
As at August 31, 2023
| Year to Date | 1 Month | 3 Months | 1 Year | 3 Years4 | Since Inception4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Global Alternative Fund - Series A | 6.45% | (0.60%) | 1.36% | 6.63% | 3.34% | 3.20% |
| Portland Global Alternative Fund - Series F | 7.22% | (0.51%) | 1.64% | 7.76% | 4.46% | 4.31% |
Geographic Allocation
| United States | 72.90% |
| United Kingdom | 14.11% |
| Canada | 9.48% |
| Switzerland | 7.19% |
| Denmark | 2.81% |
| France | 2.63% |
| Other Net Assets (Liabilities)1 | 0.08% |
| Cash & Cash Equivalents | (9.20%) |
Sector Allocation
| Consumer Staples | 34.13% |
| Financials | 19.61% |
| Health Care | 13.72% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 11.91% |
| Communication Services | 8.04% |
| Utilities | 8.03% |
| Industrials | 6.48% |
| Information Technology | 4.52% |
| Real Estate | 2.68% |
| Other Net Assets (Liabilities)1 | 0.08% |
| Cash & Cash Equivalents | (9.20%) |
Top Holdings2
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class B | 5.72% |
| Alphabet Inc. | 4.72% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 4.62% |
| Costco Wholesale Corporation | 4.60% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 4.52% |
| Walmart Inc. | 4.33% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 4.33% |
| The Procter & Gamble Company | 4.26% |
| McDonald's Corporation | 4.16% |
| Bunzl PLC | 3.71% |
| Visa Inc., Class A | 3.63% |
| The Coca-Cola Company | 3.54% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3.46% |
| Consolidated Edison, Inc. | 3.33% |
| Diageo PLC | 3.24% |
| Compass Group PLC | 3.13% |
| SSE PLC | 3.05% |
| Hormel Foods Corporation | 3.04% |
| Coloplast A/S | 2.81% |
| Novartis AG | 2.79% |
| Canadian National Railway Company | 2.77% |
| American Tower Corporation | 2.68% |
| Royal Bank of Canada | 2.66% |
| Sanofi | 2.63% |
| Nestle S.A. | 2.37% |
Fund Info
| Net Asset Value Per Unit | Management Fee | Performance Fee | Series Start Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Global Alternative Fund - Series A | $8.5049 | 1.75% | 10% above high water mark | Apr. 20, 2020 |
| Portland Global Alternative Fund - Series F | $9.5665 | 0.75% | 10% above high water mark | Apr. 20, 2020 |
Fund Details
| Fund Net Assets | $1.4 million |
| CIFSC* Asset Class | Alternative Equity Focused |
| Risk Tolerance | Medium to High |
| MER7 | Series A: 3.56%, Series F: 2.50% |
Investment Objective
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The Fund’s objective is to provide positive long-term total returns consisting of both income and capital gains by investing primarily in a portfolio of global equities and debt-like securities.
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The Fund may also engage in borrowing for investment purposes.
Key Reasons To Invest
Close adherence to Framework:
Five Laws of Wealth Creation:
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Own a few high quality businesses
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Thoroughly understand these businesses
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Ensure these businesses are domiciled in strong, long-term growth industries
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Use other people’s money prudently
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Hold these businesses for the long run
Professional use of a variable amount of leverage with the potential to outperform the benchmark
Embedded product leverage is non-recourse to individual investors
Management fee from 0.75% per annum for Series F units
Tax-efficient structure, currently housing tax losses of approximately $160 million
How The Fund is Managed
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Common shares of large global companies that the Manager identifies as the best global ideas that may include securities with a history of rising dividends and/or share buybacks over the long term
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Preference towards defensive sectors (Utilities and Consumer Staples) and low beta5 securities in order to minimize volatility and to increase the realized Sharpe Ratio6
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Currency exposures that approximately match those of the benchmark to minimize tracking error
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Utilizing low cost borrowing to purchase securities on margin and facilitate opportunistic investments during market volatility and irrational market valuations
Potential Risks
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The Manager believes the following risks may impact the performance of the Fund: concentration risk, currency risk, equity risk, leverage risk and debt securities risk. Please read the “What are the risks of investing in the Fund?” section in the Simplified Prospectus for a more detailed description of all the relevant risks.
Disclosure
* Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee
1 Other Net Assets (Liabilities) refers to all other assets and liabilities in the Fund excluding portfolio investments.
2 Where the Fund holds less than 25 holdings, all investments have been disclosed. There may be other assets and liabilities which are not included, and therefore the summary does not add up to 100%.
3 Generally available through dealers who have entered into a Portland Series F Dealer Agreement.
4 Annualized.
5 Beta is a measure of the volatility, or systematic risk, of an individual stock in comparison to the unsystematic risk of the entire market. In statistical terms, beta represents the slope of the line through a regression of data points from an individual stock’s returns against those of the market.
6 The Sharpe Ratio is a measure for calculating risk-adjusted returns. It is calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate from the return of the portfolio and dividing that result by the standard deviation of the portfolio’s excess return.
7 MER or management expense ratio is presented excluding performance fees and is after absorptions as at March 31, 2023. MER is updated on a semi-annual basis and the Manager may absorb operating expenses of the Fund at its discretion but is under no obligation to do so. The MER including performance fees and absorptions was 3.56% and 2.50% for Series A and Series F, respectively, as at March 31, 2023.
RISK TOLERANCE
Risk tolerance measures the degree of uncertainty that an investor can handle regarding fluctuations in the value of their portfolio. The amount of risk associated with any particular investment depends largely on your own personal circumstances including your time horizon, liquidity needs, portfolio size, income, investment knowledge and attitude toward price fluctuations. Investors should consult their financial advisor before making a decision as to whether this Fund is a suitable investment for them.
Use of any third party quotations or images does not in any way suggest that the person and or company endorses Portland Investment Counsel Inc. (“Portland”) and/or its products.
Use of any third party material may not reflect the views and opinions of Portland. Portland makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, in respect thereof, takes no responsibilities for errors and omissions contained herein and accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss arising from any use of, or reliance on, this material or its content.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in units [share] value and reinvestment of all distributions [dividends] and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any security holder that would have reduced returns. The rates of return are used only to illustrate the effects of the compound growth rate and are not intended to reflect future values of the mutual fund or returns on investment in the mutual fund. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.
Information presented in this material should be considered for background information only and should not be construed as investment, tax or financial advice. Please consult a Financial Advisor. Every effort has been made to ensure the utmost accuracy of the information provided. Information provided is believed to be reliable when posted. All information is subject to modification from time to time without notice. Consent is required for any reproduction, in whole or in part, of this piece and/or of its images and concepts. Please read the Prospectus before investing. Portland Investment Counsel is a registered trademark of Portland Holdings Inc. The Unicorn Design is a trademark of Portland Holdings Inc. Used under license by Portland Investment Counsel Inc. Buy. Hold. And Prosper. is a registered trademark of AIC Global Holdings Inc. used under license by Portland Investment Counsel Inc.