Alec Cutler, manager of the newly award Elite Rated Orbis Global Balanced fund, joins us today to provide a brief introduction to the fund's philosophy, the unique charging structure of the fund and its approach to targeting long-term returns, before turning to macro events. Self-proclaimed contrarian investor, Alec, highlights the importance of patience and being comfortable with being alone and potentially being wrong - or early - in investment decisions. 

We shift to the ever-present topic of inflation, with Alec expressing skepticism about the Federal Reserve's ability to control it and highlighting several current — and historical — inflationary pressures. Regarding the outlook for a recession, Alec explains that, as a contrarian investor, he looks for opportunities in areas that have been battered in the market, telling us more about where he’s currently finding opportunities. 

In the second half of the interview, the conversation focuses on the bond market, gold, geopolitical concerns, and the unique charging structure of the fund. Alec emphasises the attractiveness of gold and its role in the portfolio, arguing that gold is the original cryptocurrency because it was "issued by God." We shift to de-globalisation and Alec elaborates on why he believes we’re seeing a “resumption of the Cold War” with a growing divide between the East and the West — and how ESG issues are playing a role.

What’s covered in this episode: 

• Introduction to the Orbis Global Balanced fund and philosophy
• The asset allocation and philosophy of the fund
• Four past contrarian examples in technology, including Microsoft and Apple
• Why the Fed hasn’t got anything right
• Why 2% inflation doesn’t make any sense
• How historical data influences today’s inflation
• How defense spending, technology and anchoring all influence inflation 
• What is ‘Greenflation’ and how it’s impacting the economy
• The appeal of the US, Japan, and Korea
• Why the fund is underweight the US 
• The attractive nature of TIPS — Treasury Inflation Protected Securities
• Why gold is the crypto issued by God
• The importance of managing currency risk 
• The reintroduction of bifurcation and the “Cold War”
• The impact of ESG on the East/West divide
• The unique charging structure of the fund 

More about the fund:
Orbis Global Balanced scours the world for the best investment opportunities across a number of asset classes including equities, fixed income and commodities. Manager Alec Cutler believes one of the key advantages of the portfolio is the ability to focus on best ideas and making them “fight for capital”, with every holding needing to be an active contributor to the fund.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.