Balanced Strategy: A "Diversified, Long-Term" Perspective

Diversified balanced portfolios are invested in fixed income securities and North American and international equities. Asset allocation is reviewed weekly by the Investment Strategy Committee.

Our process includes discussions on domestic and international macroeconomic factors, relative valuations between fixed income and equities, as well as our expectations regarding fluctuations in interest rates, foreign exchange and corporate profits. The asset mix is a fallout of our bottom-up security selection approach, based on our view of the best risk/return opportunities.

The objective of balanced mandates is to add value through long-term asset allocation rather than short-term arbitrage. The portfolio’s volatility is kept to a minimum by implementing only incremental asset mix changes.

Solutions offered

• Pooled Fund Management
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Balanced Fund (available only to registered account) - Quarterly Report (pdf)
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Global Balanced Fund - Quarterly Report (pdf)
• Segregated management
  • Balanced mandates including foreign equities
  • Domestic Balanced mandates

Canadian Equity Strategy: A "High-Quality Canadian Leaders" Perspective

Our Canadian equity management focuses on large caps, blue chip stocks in non-cyclical industries with strong dividends and steady growth. We tend to de-emphasize cyclical industries and diversify assets across different industries to reduce the concentration in sectors exposed to commodity prices.

Canadian equities are prudently divided into three risk categories:

Group 1 - More than half of the portfolio's assets include large capitalization, “blue-chip” leaders in non-cyclical industries.

Group 2 - Less than one-third of the portfolio includes cyclical leaders with international operations to limit geographical risk. These companies are purchased when we identify strong return opportunities.

Group 3 - Less than 15% of assets consists of higher risk companies which make up junior “growth” or special “value” situations.

The names we own tend to have steady growth, high returns on invested capital, a dominant position in their market and region and reduced balance sheet risk.

Solutions offered

• Pooled Fund Management
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Canadian Equity Fund - Quarterly Report (pdf)
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Dividend Growth Fund - Quarterly Report (pdf)
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Small/Mid Cap Equity Fund
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Fossil Fuel Free Canadian Equity Fund
• Segregated management

U.S. Equity Strategy: A “Multinational Growth” Perspective

The U.S. equity portfolio is comprised primarily of large multinational companies that demonstrate global leadership in their industry which helps increase liquidity and reduce currency risk. These companies generally have steady growth rates, high returns on invested capital, dominant world market positions and strong balance sheets, reducing their financial risk.

As bottom-up investors, we make decisions based on fundamental research. We are long-term investors, requiring a clear and understandable business strategy and a proven record of its successful execution by the company’s management. Companies in which we invest should also have strong and ethical management with good governance. Being disciplined and risk-aware, we also require a reasonable valuation relative to current and historical growth rates, the industry’s growth rate and that of a peer group.

Solutions offered

• Jarislowsky Fraser U.S. Equity Fund - Quarterly report (pdf)
• Segregated management

International Equity Strategy: A “Global Leader” Focus

The international equity portfolio is comprised primarily of large multinational companies that demonstrate global leadership in their industry and have at least US$1 billion in market capitalization. These companies generally have steady growth rates, high returns on invested capital, dominant world market positions and strong balance sheets, reducing their financial risk.

Our approach targets companies that benefit from the above-average growth of foreign economies. Therefore, the emphasis is on non-cyclical companies in countries that offer a significant export advantage.

Companies must fulfill the following four tenets in order to be considered:

• The industry in which the company participates should be growing faster than global GDP.

• Leveraging of existing businesses to grow at least 10% per annum with products or services that allow the investment team to forecast earnings at least 3 to 5 years out. There must be high barriers to entry to competitors over that same timeframe.

• A business strategy that is clear and understandable, and management must have a proven record of its successful execution.

• Reasonable valuation levels relative to the company’s current and historical growth rates, its industry’s growth rate and that of a peer group.

Solutions offered

• Pooled Fund Management
  • Jarislowsky Fraser International Pooled Fund - Quarterly Report (pdf)
  • Jarislowsky Fraser International Equity (All Countries ex U.S.) Fund
• Segregated management
  • International Equity (EAFE benchmark)
  • International Equity (ADR only)

Global Equity Strategy: A “High-Quality, Growth” Perspective

Global equity management focuses primarily on large U.S. and multinational companies that demonstrate global leadership in their sector. These companies typically have steady growth rates, high returns on invested capital, dominant positions in world markets or their region and strong balance sheets to reduce financial risk.

Our approach targets U.S. and international companies that benefit from exposure to economies growing at a rate higher than global GDP and permit participation in core industries. The emphasis is on non-cyclical companies with a competitive advantage in their industry.

Companies must fulfill at the following four tenets in order to be considered:

• The industry in which the company participates should be growing faster than global GDP.

• Leveraging of existing businesses to grow at least 10% per annum with products or services that allow the investment team to forecast earnings at least 3 to 5 years out. There must be high barriers to entry to competitors over that same timeframe.

• A business strategy that is clear and understandable, and management must have a proven record of its successful execution.

• Reasonable valuation levels relative to the company’s current and historical growth rates, its industry’s growth rate, and that of a peer group.

Solutions offered

• Jarislowsky Fraser Global Equity Fund - Quarterly Report (pdf)
• Jarislowsky Fraser Global Equity (All Countries) Fund
• Jarislowsky Fraser Emerging Markets Equity Fund
• Jarislowsky Fraser Fossil Fuel Free Global Equity Fund

Bond Strategy:  A Prudent Approach To Yield Optimization

Our Bond portfolios are well diversified and composed of high-quality securities that have been thoroughly analyzed by our in-house research team. Bond management is based on three principles:

1. Capital preservation

2. Yield optimization

3. Conservative duration management

Portfolio yield is optimized by a high concentration of non-cyclical corporate bonds. Factors such as economic growth, inflation, fiscal performance and yield curve forecasts are examined. We take a global economic approach to determine the duration of the portfolio.

The inherent risk from interest rate volatility is minimized by trading within a defined, conservative duration range.

Solutions offered

• Pooled Fund Management
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Bond Fund - Quarterly Report (pdf)
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Long Term Bond Fund - Quarterly Report (pdf)
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Fixed Income Core Plus Fund
  • Jarislowsky Fraser Fossil Fuel Free Bond Fund
• Segregated management
  • Universe
  • Long, Medium or Short Term
  • Corporate Bonds
• Liability-driven segregated management (LDI)