13 Questions for Artemis’ Alex Stanic

Which
Sector
Shows
the
Biggest
Promise
in
2023?

Our
approach
is
bottom-up
stock-picking.
The
way
we
get
there
is
to
look
for
long-term
themes
that
point
us
towards
enduring,
investable
trends.
There
are
many
challenges
in
the
world
economy,
including
inflation
and
interest
rates.
These
give
a
wide
variety
of
potential
outcomes,
making
our
focus
on
resilient
areas
even
more
relevant.
One
resilient
area
is
the
green
energy
transition,
which
is
backed
by
government
legislation
–
like
the
Inflation
Reduction
Act
in
the
US
–
and
will
happen
no
matter
what.

What’s
the
Biggest
Economic
Risk
Today?

The
big
challenge
is
inflation.
There’s
an
expectation
that
inflation
will
slow
down
when
the
economy
slows
down,
but
that
could
be
misleading.
Back
in
the
’70s
inflation
came
in
several
stages.
It
looked
like
it
had
been
conquered,
and
central
banks
reversed
course
as
the
economy
slowed
–
but
then
inflation
came
back
even
stronger.
So
the
question
will
be:
“It
is
it
really
gone?”
And
we
won’t
know
that
for
some
time.
It
will
need
close
monitoring
by
the
central
banks,
with
a
high
risk
of
policy
error.
This
creates
considerable
uncertainty
and
there
are
a
wide
range
of
possible
outcomes.

Describe
Your
Investment
Strategy

We
look
for
long-term
themes,
backed
by
empirical
evidence
of
resilience
through
multiple
economic
cycles.
Then
we
look
for
companies
that
will
benefit
from
these
themes
–
companies
that
could
deliver
sustainable
growth,
are
good-quality
and,
critically,
are
attractively
valued.

We
then
build
a
portfolio
from
an
opportunistic
perspective
–
as
opposed
to
benchmarking.
We’re
very
much
driven
by
the
positive
attributes
of
our
stocks.
But
we
stay
disciplined
around
our
process,
especially
when
looking
at
quality
and
maintaining
our
valuation
discipline.
The
result
should
be
a
portfolio
of
resilient
businesses
that
drive
wealth
creation
and
returns
over
the
longer
run.

Which
Investor
Do
You
Admire?

The
obvious
answer
is
Warren
Buffett.
His
performance
over
the
long
term
and
his
extraordinary
level
of
philanthropic
giving
really
make
him
my
number-one
choice.
I’d
also
add
Howard
Marks
–
his
insights
around
the
cycle
and
credit
are
always
worth
a
read.

Name
Your
Favourite
‘Forever
Stock’

Tough
question.
Everything
changes
eventually
–
there’s
really
no
such
thing
as
a
forever
stock.
But
there
are
companies
that
remain
relevant
through
many
decades,
even
as
their
markets
change.
One
example
is
L’Oréal,
a
business
that
plans
over
a
very
long
timeframe.
A
management
team
with
a
long-term
perspective
can
really
help
drive
the
success
of
a
firm.
A
good
example
would
be
John
Deere.
Although
it
operates
in
cyclical
industries
it
has
been
consistently
successful
and
has
invested
in
new
areas
well
ahead
of
peers.
There
have
only
been
10
CEOs
in
over
180
years.

What
Would
You
Never
Invest
In? 

To
give
a
slightly
technical
answer:
companies
that
have
no
chance
of
ever
generating
returns
ahead
of
their
cost
of
capital.

Growth
or
Value?

I
think
the
recent
shift
towards
looking
for
a
binary
split
between
growth
and
value
is
ultimately
overly
simplistic.
I’d
argue
that
every
investment
we
make
is
good
value
and
involves
a
business
that
has
the
potential
to
grow.
Our
investment
process
is
designed
to
find
and
invest
in
companies
which
can
be
rare
opportunities
–
great
quality
businesses
at
attractive
prices. 
 

House
or
Pension?

Time
for
a
simple
answer:
I’d
choose
a
pension,
as
it’s
more
flexible.

Crypto:
Brilliant
or
Bad?

How
the
technologies
underpinning
crypto
can
be
applied
–
that
could
be
brilliant.
Unfortunately,
it’s
the
bad
side
that’s
hitting
the
headlines.
The
scandals
and
fraud
in
the
sector
are
clearly
appalling.

What
Can
be
Done
to
Improve
Diversity
in
Fund
Management?

Diversity
is
something
I
have
always
focussed
on
when
building
investment
teams.
I’ve
often
seen
decisions
enhanced
by
diverse
perspectives,
something
backed
up
by
academic
research.
I’m
also
a
sponsor
on
the
Diversity
Project’s
Pathway
Programme.
It
is
designed
to
help
women
join
the
industry,
and
it’s
great
to
actively
help
beyond
my
immediate
role.

Have
you
Ever
Engaged
with
a
Company
and
Been
Particularly
Proud
(or
Disappointed)
in
the
Outcome?

Uber
has
often
got
a
lot
of
flak.
Historically
it
has
received
low
ESG
rankings
that
essentially
penalised
it
as
part
of
the
gig
economy.
But
there’s
huge
value
in
the
flexible
work
Uber
provides.
If
you
want
flexibility
then
it’s
a
phenomenal
way
to
earn
money
within
a
relatively
safe
environment.
Research
we
did
suggested
that
this
has
been
underappreciated,
so
I
engaged
and
asked
for
more
information.

Uber
recently
produced
an
ESG
report
that
listed
initiatives
in
driver
safety,
benefits,
and
convenience.
The
company
also
has
driver
wellbeing
in
its
executive
compensation
programme.
These
important
messages
highlight
how
engagement
can
help
surface
critical
information
around
a
business.

What’s
the
Best
Advice
You’ve
Ever
Been
Given?

Uber
recently
produced
an
ESG
report
that
listed
initiatives
in
driver
safety,
benefits,
and
convenience.
The
company
also
has
driver
wellbeing
in
its
executive
compensation
programme.
These
important
messages
highlight
how
engagement
can
help
surface
critical
information
around
a
business.

What
Would
You
be
if
You
Weren’t
a
Fund
Manager?

A
psychologist.
Behavioural
trends
can
have
an
outsize
impact
on
markets
and
of
course,
it
is
at
the
root
of
so
many
other
things,
which
is
fascinating.

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