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Blue Whale Update: Where do revenues actually come from?

Stephen Yiu - Blue Whale Fund Manager Stephen Yiu is the Chief Investment Officer at Blue Whale Capital and Lead Manager of the Blue Whale Growth Fund.
Stephen co-founded Blue Whale Capital with Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, in 2016. The Blue Whale Growth Fund was launched in September 2020 and is a long-only global equity fund focusing on developed markets.
Stephen adopts a high conviction, active approach based on bottom-up, fundamental research.

At Blue Whale, we pride ourselves in the depth of our research and our investment team’s ability to translate insights into fund performance.

Here we offer a sneak peek into our research process to help our investors understand what fund managers do in an otherwise opaque industry.

When we look at a company, we always analyse three things: who they sell to (the customers), what they sell (the product), and how they sell it (the business model). These three things help us assess the company’s ability to outperform the market.

In this article, we focus on understanding where a company delivers value to truly appreciate its underlying economic exposure and understand its impact on portfolio sector diversification.

Follow the Money – where do revenues come from?

Most standard sector classifications are based on what a company sells. Amazon operates an online retailer so it’s often classified along with Walmart as a retailer. Adobe sells software so it’s classified with Microsoft as a tech business.

While this represents a quick way of approximating a company’s sector exposure, we find it less helpful for understanding the true economic exposures behind a company’s performance.

Take Adobe for instance. Adobe’s main customers are creative professionals in the media and entertainment space which exposes the company’s fortunes to video editing, photo editing, online marketing and online advertising. This ties its fate to the producers of content and the platforms through which they’re distributed. That’s why we classify Adobe under Media and Entertainment along with Disney, Netflix, Youtube and Facebook: it’s the demand for digital content that’s driving Adobe’s performance.

Autodesk, on the other hand, sells software mainly to the construction, industrial and manufacturing industries. This makes its underlying economic exposure closer to housebuilders like Ashstead, construction companies like Balfour Beatty, their cement and aggregates suppliers, as well as manufacturing giants like Siemens and Philips. That’s why we prefer to classify Autodesk with Industrials companies: it’s the digitisation of construction and industrials processes that’s driving Autodesk’s growth.

Furthermore, companies like Visa and Mastercard, which are often classified as tech companies but whose clients are mainly banks and other financial institutions, are clearly more exposed to the banking and payment industries. That’s why we prefer to classify Visa and Mastercard as Financial Services rather than Software.

Applying this at the portfolio level helps us better understand the true level of diversification from our collection of companies. We see for instance that almost half of the portfolio is exposed to financial services/payments and media & entertainment, something that’s not immediately observable from standard industry classifications.

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A similar exercise can be made when looking at our portfolio’s geographic exposure. Although many of the companies we own are listed in the US (about 70% of our portfolio), almost all are large global companies generating revenues in Europe and Asia (often 40% or more), just like many companies listed on the FTSE 100 Index. Taking this x-ray view of where revenues come from, we can see that our portfolio’s underlying exposure is very well diversified globally.

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We believe that doing this helps investors better understand the true level of portfolio concentration risk in any one sector as well as providing a deeper understanding of the key drivers behind portfolio performance. We invite all investors to take a deeper look at their own portfolios and to ask their fund managers to report on their underlying exposures – the results might surprise you!

Blue Whale Growth Fund is manufactured by Blue Whale Capital LLP and represented in Malta by MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc.


Blue Whale Key Risks & Disclaimers:

The Blue Whale Growth Fund was launched in September 2020. All references to actions before this date relate to the LF Blue Whale Growth Fund.  Information on the LF Blue Whale Growth Fund is provided for comparison purposes only; it is a UK UCITS which is not registered for sale in nor is it promoted to investors in the EEA.  Whilst the investment objectives and charges are not identical, both funds are run on the same investment process.

Please note that the information provided in this article is not to be construed as advice and any views we express on holdings do not constitute investment recommendations and must not be viewed as such. If you are unsure as to the suitability of an investment for your circumstances, please seek independent financial advice. Investments can go down in value as well as up so you may get back less than you invested. Your capital is at risk. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.Blue Whale Capital LLP is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

There are significant risks associated with investment in the Fund referred to herein. Investment in the Fund is intended for investors who understand and can accept the risks associated with such an investment including potentially a substantial or complete loss of their investment.

Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments and any income derived from them can go down as well as up and the value of your investment may be volatile and be subject to sudden and substantial falls.

Investment in a Fund with exposure to emerging markets involves risk factors and special considerations which may not be typically associated with investing in more developed markets. Political or economic change and instability may be more likely to occur and have a greater effect on the economies and markets of emerging countries. Adverse government policies, taxation, restrictions on foreign investment and on currency convertibility and repatriation, currency fluctuations and other developments in the laws and regulations of emerging countries in which investment may be made, including expropriation, nationalisation or other confiscation could result in loss to the Fund.

Income from investments may fluctuate. Changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of investments. Fund charges may be applied in whole or part to capital, which may result in capital erosion. The Authorised Corporate Director may apply a dilution adjustment as detailed in the Prospectus. The Fund is not traded on an exchange or recognised market.

The foregoing list of risk factors is not complete, and reference should be made to the Fund’s Prospectus, KIID and application form.


MeDirect Disclaimers:

This information has been accurately reproduced, as received from Blue Whale Growth Fund. No information has been omitted which would render the reproduced information inaccurate or misleading. This information is being distributed by MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to its customers. The information contained in this document is for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or other professional advice nor does it commit MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to any obligation whatsoever. The information available in this document is not intended to be a suggestion, recommendation or solicitation to buy, hold or sell, any securities and is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness.

The financial instruments discussed in the document may not be suitable for all investors and investors must make their own informed decisions and seek their own advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in financial instruments or implementing strategies discussed herein.

If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest. The value of your investment may go down as well as up. A commission or sales fee may be charged at the time of the initial purchase for an investment. Any income you get from this investment may go down as well as up. This product may be affected by changes in currency exchange rate movements thereby affecting your investment return therefrom. The performance figures quoted refer to the past and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance or a reliable guide to future performance. Any decision to invest in a mutual fund should always be based upon the details contained in the Prospectus and Key Investor Information Document (KIID), which may be obtained from MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc.

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