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Sector Coverage
March 2022
Important Information:
This webinar contains information specifically intended for institutional clients, asset consultants, advisers, platforms and researchers, who are professional investors and wholesale clients (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001).
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Spotlight on Nicole Mardell, Senior Global Equities Analyst, Bell Asset Management
International Women’s Day (IWD) is an opportunity to celebrate our team, empower others and share some of the stories that make our women successful. As this year’s theme is ‘break the bias’, we asked Nicole Mardell what IWD means to her – with a look at past and present experiences in the professional world, to her viewpoints on the path to achieving equality and change, as well as one key investment theme for the year ahead.
IWD is a wonderful way to acknowledge the contribution of women in society and the progress that has been made towards equality. However also a reminder, while we have come a long way, there is still much work to do to ensure work cultures are truly inclusive and allow women the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Regarding my career journey, I have had a wonderful mentor who is a senior figure in the superannuation and investment industry. He is currently Chair of the Investment Committee for a large Industry Super Fund. We first crossed paths when I started on the Graduate Program at Colonial Ltd back in the late 1990s. He was particularly supportive in creating an opportunity for me in London, where I started my investment career, and through various career moves in that market whilst we were both working over there. His mentorship has continued since moving back to Melbourne, over ten years ago now. He has continued to be a valued influence, where in turn, he has reached out to me for my thoughts especially as it relates to women in the workforce, what it means to be a female working in the global investment management industry in particular, and how the industry could move forward.
“I have had a wonderful and supportive mentor who is a senior figure in the superannuation and investment industry, with his mentorship continuing for over 20 years now.”
I believe one step towards achieving equality can be through flexible working conditions as a standard, for both women and men. It also goes without saying, equal pay is also paramount to ensure equality. We need to continue to strive for work to be more accessible for women, and now is the time for change. Given the last two years of lockdowns, we’ve proven flexible working conditions can improve productivity and be a positive benefit for both men’s and women’s wellbeing. We now need to ensure we keep moving this forward.
One key investment theme that is top of mind for fund managers right now is inflation and interest rates. Inflation is coming in every direction, creating a spike that hasn’t been seen for a very long time and as a result, is bringing the investment discussion back to style where we could see a significant divergence between value and growth. Interest rate expectations are keeping valuations front of mind for investors. These two are not mutually exclusive though, nor is their consideration when it comes to investing.
At Bell Asset Management, our investment style is ‘Quality’ at a reasonable price, and we feel this will do incredibly well in the current environment. Our focus on quality and company fundamentals, together with our discipline on valuations to ensure we don’t overpay for that quality, means we are well placed to navigate through a high-inflationary environment. We continue to find lots of opportunities and are optimistic about our strategies continuing to provide robust risk adjusted returns for investors.
Spotlight on Nicole Mardell, Senior Global Equities Analyst, Bell Asset Management
International Women’s Day (IWD) is an opportunity to celebrate our team, empower others and share some of the stories that make our women successful. As this year’s theme is ‘break the bias’, we asked Nicole Mardell what IWD means to her – with a look at past and present experiences in the professional world, to her viewpoints on the path to achieving equality and change, as well as one key investment theme for the year ahead.
IWD is a wonderful way to acknowledge the contribution of women in society and the progress that has been made towards equality. However also a reminder, while we have come a long way, there is still much work to do to ensure work cultures are truly inclusive and allow women the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Regarding my career journey, I have had a wonderful mentor who is a senior figure in the superannuation and investment industry. He is currently Chair of the Investment Committee for a large Industry Super Fund. We first crossed paths when I started on the Graduate Program at Colonial Ltd back in the late 1990s. He was particularly supportive in creating an opportunity for me in London, where I started my investment career, and through various career moves in that market whilst we were both working over there. His mentorship has continued since moving back to Melbourne, over ten years ago now. He has continued to be a valued influence, where in turn, he has reached out to me for my thoughts especially as it relates to women in the workforce, what it means to be a female working in the global investment management industry in particular, and how the industry could move forward.
“I have had a wonderful and supportive mentor who is a senior figure in the superannuation and investment industry, with his mentorship continuing for over 20 years now.”
I believe one step towards achieving equality can be through flexible working conditions as a standard, for both women and men. It also goes without saying, equal pay is also paramount to ensure equality. We need to continue to strive for work to be more accessible for women, and now is the time for change. Given the last two years of lockdowns, we’ve proven flexible working conditions can improve productivity and be a positive benefit for both men’s and women’s wellbeing. We now need to ensure we keep moving this forward.
One key investment theme that is top of mind for fund managers right now is inflation and interest rates. Inflation is coming in every direction, creating a spike that hasn’t been seen for a very long time and as a result, is bringing the investment discussion back to style where we could see a significant divergence between value and growth. Interest rate expectations are keeping valuations front of mind for investors. These two are not mutually exclusive though, nor is their consideration when it comes to investing.
At Bell Asset Management, our investment style is ‘Quality’ at a reasonable price, and we feel this will do incredibly well in the current environment. Our focus on quality and company fundamentals, together with our discipline on valuations to ensure we don’t overpay for that quality, means we are well placed to navigate through a high-inflationary environment. We continue to find lots of opportunities and are optimistic about our strategies continuing to provide robust risk adjusted returns for investors.
