Global quality value team

Located in Boston, London and Tokyo, the Manulife global quality value team averages over 25 years of investment experience and has over CAD$4.5 billion* in retail and institutional assets under management.

The global quality value difference

  • Targeting the largest and most profitable companies around the world—Large market capitalization stocks offer greater liquidity and scale, which helps provide consistency in the performance pattern of the funds.
  • High-conviction funds that don’t look like the benchmark—Investing globally with a concentrated portfolio means always having a large pool of ideas regardless of current aggregate market valuations.
  • Simple process, deep research—The team filters out all the market noise to get a true understanding of the current and future state of the company and its business.

Get to know the Manulife global quality value team

The team focuses on the company, not market noise. Company by company, they search the globe to find high-quality businesses at the right price. High quality is not subjective, however. They look for companies with a sustainable business that generates cash in excess of their cost of capital, and return some of that cash to shareholders in the form of dividends. Equally important is what the company’s management does with the remaining cash, whether it’s acquisitions, debt reduction, or share buybacks. All of this is analyzed at a deep level and coupled with conversations with management to gain insight into the company’s future. By focusing on quality dividend-paying companies and choosing only stocks with the best risk-adjusted upside potential, long-term downside protection is naturally built into the strategy.

Meet the team behind the funds

Paul Boyne

Head of Global Quality Value, Senior Portfolio Manager
Investing since 1987

Stephen Hermsdorf

Managing Director, Portfolio Manager
Investing since 1996

Felicity Smith

Portfolio Manager
Investing since 1985

Karen Zhang

Investment Analyst
Investing since 2014

Edward Ritchie, ASIP

Senior Managing Director, Head of Japan Equities, Portfolio Manager
Investing since 1995

Team members and responsibilities listed are as of March 31, 2023.


Investment process

The team’s investment philosophy is based on four key components: bottom-up fundamental stock selection, long-term focus, high-quality companies, and attractive valuations. They believe that this long-term orientation and focus on fundamentals, quality, and valuation will drive strong risk-adjusted performance while providing downside market protection.

Graphic showing Manulife Global Equity Team's investment process. They seek quality companies that have a strong Franchise, Management Team, Balance Sheet and Free Cash Flow. They believe:  A strong franchise helps ensure an enduring business. A strong management team leads to good capital allocation. A strong balance sheet helps ensure an appropriate amount of leverage. And, strong free cash flow is an indicator of a sustainable business. All of these elements support the case for a high return on capital. The team's process is illustrated as starting with idea generation followed by deep fundamental research, then valuation and finally portfolio construction.

Seek quality companies that have a strong:

From the tens of thousands of companies available globally, The team selects for their funds only those that they firmly believe will generate long-term capital appreciation for investors.

Portfolio managers may use some or all of the techniques described. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee returns or eliminate risk in any market environment. Characteristics, guidelines, and constraints are for illustrative purposes only. They may change at any time and may differ for a specific account.


Funds managed

* Capped to all new purchases

Our investment philosophy is relatively simple – we buy high quality companies with attractive valuations. The value add is in the execution and in our detailed research process

—Paul Boyne, Head of Global Quality Value, Senior Portfolio Manager

Related materials

As of June 30, 2021 CAD.

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