How IMCO's Public Equities is Positioned to Deliver Resilient Returns

Markets never stand still, which is why IMCO's public equities approach is built to adapt with them. By blending passive and active investment strategies, the fund’s portfolio remains responsive to market conditions while capturing value where it’s advantageous and most appropriate for our clients’ risk appetites.

Angus Botterell, Senior Managing Director and Head of Public Equities at IMCO, shares how the team is positioning the portfolio for long-term success.

Public markets are constantly shifting. How does IMCO stay responsive to evolving conditions while staying grounded in its long-term strategy?

Our long-term strategy acts as a compass through changing market conditions. We’re intentional about where we deploy capital, which geographies we invest in and who we partner with externally. By doing the upfront work to carefully select our strategy, we’re able to look past day-to-day market noise and build a portfolio structured to perform for the long run.

How do you strike a balance between passive and active investing at IMCO?

Achieving the right balance between our investment strategies comes down to maintaining broad market exposure while capitalizing on selective investment opportunities. Our passive investments track a market benchmark to help reduce risk while providing access to liquidity. Meanwhile, our active approach includes four components: factor investing, fundamental equities, external partnerships and portfolio completion. Each is designed to enhance returns, diversify the portfolio or manage risks. Our active sub-strategies are only used in areas where they have historically outperformed the market, or, where IMCO has a competitive edge. This includes our ability to underwrite and structure transactions, in addition to tolerating illiquidity over a long-term investment horizon.

How do factor investing, fundamental equities and external partnerships each contribute to IMCO's active strategy?

Factor investing gives us equity exposure to characteristics like value, growth and momentum, traits that have historically delivered market outperformance over time.

Meanwhile, our fundamental equity strategy targets specific companies, including those in the pre-initial public offering (pre-IPO) and IPO stages, where our deep research can uncover overlooked growth potential.

We round out our active approach with external managers who can tolerate more risk and complexity and offer local expertise in areas such as emerging markets.

What does the Fundamental Equities team look for in a company when investing?

We start with the fundamentals, such as analyzing a company's financial statements and our expectations for industry and company growth. Then we evaluate management quality and capital allocation, as we believe strong leadership and wise capital deployment are ultimately what drives long-term returns.

In certain cases, we take a Fundamental+ approach, acquiring a larger stake in a company, that may come with board representation. This allows us greater influence over business operations and supports strong investment returns.

How does IMCO's portfolio completion sub-strategy manage risks?

When we combine our active investment strategies, it's like putting together a puzzle. While each piece is carefully placed, sometimes the full picture reveals unintended exposures. That's where our total portfolio completion comes in. It ensures that the final public equities portfolio aligns with our risk exposures while maintaining appropriate liquidity.

Public equities markets are often shaped by large structural trends. How does IMCO decide which themes to lean into and which to wait out?

While we do pay close attention to mega trends in the markets, our focus remains on understanding what's driving them and whether they have staying power. Artificial intelligence is a good example. Initially it looked like a bubble, but over time we saw real ongoing investments from major tech companies, signaling long-term conviction. That's what we're really looking for. Is the demand real or speculative?

How does public equities collaborate with other asset classes within IMCO to help build strong portfolios at the total fund level?

While IMCO's total portfolio is roughly equally balanced between public and private assets, the two sides serve distinct roles. The public equities team supports private assets by sharing expertise on liquidity, benchmarks and helping to manage public securities that are sometimes received as part of a private exit.

Additionally, public markets are often where long-term investment trends first emerge. It's where companies announce bold plans and make real investments, and those moves are quickly priced in. That's why public equities also serve as a key source of market intelligence that helps IMCO remain informed and responsive. Ultimately, our collaborative approach drives innovation.

Learn more about IMCO Public Equities.