MS INVF Global Brands I |



by Drew Carter

Morgan Stanley Global Franchise (Global Brands in the UK and Europe) boasts an experienced, well-resourced team, and a consistent, quality-focused process, making it a strong choice. Morningstar has changed the way we assess alpha opportunity for funds, which is a key component in our Morningstar Medalist Rating calculation. More of this strategy's Medalist Ratings than usual may therefore change with this update even in the absence of changes to pillar ratings or fund costs. Lead manager William Lock oversees an engaged group of nine portfolio managers (including himself) who share stock coverage duties with six more analysts. Lock has empowered his team by sharing decision-making across the team, thus minimizing his own role and reducing key-person risk. Plenty of experienced managers back him up, helping to oversee this strategy, Morgan Stanley Institutional International Equity, and three others that together handle $51.3 billion, the lion’s share being managed here. The investment approach seeks stable, long-term compounding stocks. The team targets firms with durable growth potential, preferring high unleveraged returns on capital, high gross margins often based on recurring revenues, predictable cash flow, modest balance-sheet leverage, and capital-light business models. The team screens the global universe, then considers whether a prospective firm has an entrenched, intangible advantage—most notably pricing power and repeating revenue—that prevents competition from eroding its high returns. From there, they seek company managements willing to balance reinvestment into franchises and brands with shareholder returns—dividend payments or share buybacks. Finally, valuation plays an important role as the team avoids fast-growing firms that command excessive price multiples. The result is a concentrated portfolio of about 30-40 stocks packed mostly into a few sectors. Consumer staples, long a portfolio stalwart, has ebbed over time, making way for more technology (Microsoft, SAP), financials (Visa, Aon), and healthcare (UnitedHealth Group, Thermo Fisher Scientific) stocks. Still, together the four sectors claim more than 83% of assets. Conviction in sturdy firms has offered investors downside protection, driving this strategy’s long-term success over Lock’s 15-year-plus tenure. Sell discipline can be soft at times, but over Lock’s tenure the strategy has handily beaten its bogies, especially on a risk-adjusted basis. Returns have lagged the bogies in 2023-24, but this solid team can turn that around. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | Above Average |
Parent | Average |
Process | Above Average |
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