Marc-Olivier Buffle

SAM is an active, value-oriented manager which combines in-depth sustainability research with classical portfolio construction. They manage portfolios invested in equity and fixed-income, with a primary focus on European and North American blue-chip and large-cap equity; however, they have no market cap restrictions. The firm bases investment decisions on research provided by their affiliate, SAM Research, who conduct economic, environmental and social analysis, to identify leading sustainability-driven companies in leader and pioneer market sectors. SAM Research uses a proprietary system to assess the sustainability performance of companies. They invest following a top-down approach. They aim to identify market leading companies in terms of sustainability performance and financial performance, initially screening global markets using SAM Corporate Sustainability Analysis, a proprietary model, before assessing individual companies with a focus on industry specific sustainability issues and financial stability. Subsequently, they aim to identify industry and technology leaders within each industry and construct a model portfolio comprising approximately 100 companies which they believe to be able to turn sustainability into shareholder value. The last step is based on the use of the SAM Sustainability DCF-Model, a quantitative model designed to pick undervalued stocks from the model portfolio of sustainable companies. Risk control is part of their investment process and is based on the use of third-party computer models. The firm continuously monitors and measures the performance and risk profile of each portfolio against an index benchmark and against competitor funds.

Robeco Schweiz’s asset management capabilities cover a range of investment products in public equities which integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the investment process. All their investment strategies and products are designed to make a measurable environmental or societal impact. The strategy applies a systematic, long-term, bottom-up stock selection process that combines extensive proprietary ESG research with rigorous fundamental analysis. The result is a concentrated portfolio of attractively valued, sustainable companies, diversified across sectors.