AllianceBernstein launches Select US Equity Portfolio in Singapore

The portfolio maximizes risk-adjusted returns.

Singapore Business Review talked to Ms. Karen Lim, Head of Retail – Singapore at Alliance Bernstein, to learn more about this product.

SBR: Please tell us more about the product.
The newly launched Select US Equity Portfolio seeks superior investment returns across different market cycles while maximizing risk-adjusted returns relative to the broad US equity market. The Portfolio’s experience investment team applies intensive bottom-up analysis and macroeconomic insights to identify investment opportunities.

Primary investments include large- and mid-capitalization (“cap”) US stocks, although it may invest in non-US and small caps opportunistically. The Portfolio is unconstrained by market-cap, style and sector. The team emphasizes companies with understandable business, solid long-term growth potential and high barrier to entry. These companies can be characterized by:

• Strong earnings growth combined with reasonable valuation
• An upcoming catalyst like surprising earnings or new products
• Asset valuations that are misunderstood by the market
• An excessive market discount based on perceived risk

The team also evaluates the quality of management based on factors including a commitment to shareholder-friendly activities like dividends and stock buybacks, conservative accounting methodologies, and management incentives that include direct equity ownership.

SBR: What is significant/unique about this product?
The product applies a very disciplined process rooted in fundamental analysis and macro insights, combined with an unconstrained approach and flexibility to respond market conditions.

It has excellent track record where the strategy outperformed S&P 500 every calendar year since its inception 2011 with slightly less risk, displaying a consistency that places the fund in the top 1% of the competitive universe since inception. In fact, the service was available to institutional clients long before that.

SBR: Why should investors consider investing in it?
It is expected that US corporate profits should continue to grow with nominal GDP which will benefit stocks.. This product provides an opportunity to invest with a proven stock picker and trader, Kurt Feuerman. Kurt is a Chief Investment Officer at AllianceBernstein and has over 29 years of experience and has demonstrated the ability to deliver investment results for his clients.

SBR: Anything you'd like to add?
The Select US Equity Portfolio is available for subscription by retail investors in Singapore and prospective investors should read the prospectus and product highlights sheet carefully and discuss risk and the fund’s fees and charges with their financial advisor to determine if the investment is appropriate for them.