Exclusive interview with Matthew Gadsden, Head of Research Execution, Principal Consultant, JANA Investment Advisers
Global Investment Insights
with Matthew Gadsden, Head of Research Execution, Principal Consultant, JANA Investment Advisers
Matthew Gadsden is a Principal Consultant and JANA’s Head of Research Execution. Matt is responsible for leveraging JANA’s research expertise to drive value creation through the evolution of investment advice and thought leadership, elevating client performance outcomes across JANA’s diverse client base.
Matt has previously led JANA’s Global Equities Research Team and served as the Chair of JANA’s Implemented Consulting (Platform) Investment Committee. He is a member of JANA’s Capital Markets Committee and actively consults to a range of Super and non-Super Advisory and Implemented Consulting clients.
In this exclusive interview with Global Investment Institute, Matt explores how changing market dynamics, including the rise of passive investing and AI disruption, are reshaping portfolio construction and manager evaluation at JANA. He shares the research priorities his team is currently exploring, where the best relative value investment opportunities exist today and explains how JANA's employee-owned model positions it to adapt to evolving client needs in a more competitive and fragmented market.
Q. Earlier this year you were promoted to the newly created role, Head of Research Execution, having previously been the Head of Global Equities Research at JANA. Can you share more about your current role, the key areas of focus for you and the main objectives you are aiming to achieve?
A. Earlier this year, I transitioned into the newly created role of Head of Research Execution at JANA, following a seven-year tenure as Head of Global Equities Research. This role was designed to enhance collaboration across investment-facing areas, research, investment strategy, sustainability, and client relationships, with the overarching goal of driving value creation for clients through improved investment advice and performance outcomes.
My focus has been on helping the research teams deliver our research agenda in line with evolving client needs, improve and facilitate consistent execution of investment processes and help ensure that our best ideas make it into client portfolios. I also play a key role in strategic initiatives, including modularised services, like internal investment team governance reviews, while supporting investment knowledge sharing across teams.
Q. What investment themes are you currently exploring and why has your team singled out those specific research topics as a top strategic priority?
A. Our annual process of reviewing structural themes and asset class trends is constructive in setting the scene for our research asset classes to evolve their focus on best ideas and portfolio construction, which conditions portfolio perspectives for our clients’ existing asset class and broader investment strategy. As a function of this, our research teams are currently exploring investment themes related to the implications of AI and technology, the shifting geopolitical landscape and energy transition as well as how these trends impact the evolving role of the asset management industry, including our own investment processes.
Observations from our extensive global investment research programme across asset classes and investment functions provide evidence that the pace of change has accelerated, likely amplifying and disrupting these themes and market trends, including expected asset class returns. We look at this through the lens of both investment opportunity and how we organise ourselves and our day-to-day task flows, which elevates its importance and focus. As researchers, we are always challenging ourselves to think about what is different or unique about the current macro/market backdrop and the implications for our clients’ portfolios.
Connecting multi-year global research trip data points has allowed us to spend some time focusing on changing market structures and their impact on investment approaches. These themes align with our broader goal of delivering market-leading advice and client performance outcomes in a rapidly changing investment landscape.
Q. How are you advising clients to think about portfolio construction in an environment of elevated valuations in public markets and compressed return expectations? Where is your research identifying the most compelling risk-adjusted opportunities today?
A. In today’s environment of elevated public market valuations and compressed return expectations, we advise clients to focus on portfolio balance, resilience and strategic diversification but note that these dynamics are not contained to public markets. As a component of changes in market structure and from a listed investments perspective, our research programme observations highlight the impact of market concentration and the rise of passive, ETF and thematic investing as well as the decentralisation of capital formation and prospective policy changes manifesting in consolidation across the asset management industry.
While equity market concentration is not a new phenomenon, given the different change of mix in players driving market pricing, we believe the nature of price discovery may be changing. As a function of these dynamics, we have observed headwinds for fundamental active managers and raised our awareness around sentimental factors which is captured by an approach to ladder time horizons for alpha delivery though investment process diversification across equity portfolios.
This may mean what constitutes a compelling risk adjusted opportunity may be different for investors with different time horizons and objectives, e.g. both thoughtful fee-efficient enhanced index systematic equity strategies for constrained investors and equity long-short technology, renewables or healthcare for less constrained investors. Industry dynamics show that investor strategies for listed assets are increasingly benchmark-focused, while private markets, traditionally opportunity-driven, are shifting toward a more democratised and benchmarked approach, narrowing the gap between them.
There is a strong industry trend toward integrating private assets (including private equity, private credit, infrastructure) into diversified portfolios, especially as public market return expectations compress and the appeal of private credit, infrastructure, and real assets for diversification, yield, and inflation protection. While additional diversification can be beneficial, we highlight that adaptability and flexibility are attractive qualities in this market environment.
Q. What are the main qualities your research team evaluates when assessing external investment managers and how has your framework evolved in response to changing market conditions and the rise of passive and alternative strategies?
A. Our evaluation framework for external investment managers features both qualitative and quantitative factors, which include the well-known components of manager assessment including organisational, talent, philosophy, sustainability, investment process and portfolio construction / risk management amongst other key elements.
Over recent years and in response to market shifts and the rise of passive and alternative strategies, we’ve deepened our lens on understanding the true sources of alpha as part of investment decision making (across several different parameters and through time) and aspire to be clearer on an investment manger’s value proposition. Our collaboration and utilisation of behavioural analytics provider Cabot/FactSet over many years now have enabled us to add deeper insight to the mosaic of equities manager evaluation.
In an increasingly disruptive, AI enabled world we have become more acutely aware of how much investment capabilities prioritise continuous improvement, including the ability to create more time for focused work. While we believe markets are inherently cyclical in nature, we believe there is an evolving premium attached to managers who can be thoughtful enough to understand how their business and investment approach may be sensitive to changes in market dynamics.
While we are not advocating managers shift respective investment approaches, we are encouraging investment managers to better articulate the value they provide. This is something that we are continually reflecting upon ourselves.
Q. Where are you seeing opportunities for growth across JANA’s various client segments, particularly in light of the continued consolidation in the superannuation sector?
A. It’s an exciting time at JANA, we see growth potential across all JANA’s client segments. These include Superannuation, Not-For-Profit, Insurance, New Zealand, Wealth as well as receiving inbound enquiries from overseas.
Acknowledging that the superannuation sector continues to consolidate, we have seen the nature and delivery of the advice we are providing changing as a function of this, forcing us to adapt with both investment specialisation and breadth, which presents both challenges and opportunities.
While this requires an agile workforce with both differentiated thinking and ability, it has required us to double down on process and decision-making improvement. As a 100% employee-owned investment consulting firm, we have been well placed and incentivised to continuously improve, develop ourselves and adapt to what clients want, which may be a shift from the traditional retainer-based assignments to governance and project-based engagements.
We’re adapting by finding ways to both scale research and insights but also ensuring high quality and customisation. At the end of the day, our focus is on deepening relationships with our client partners and delivering tailored advice that resonates in a more competitive and fragmented market. This approach positions us to support clients through change, while driving sustainable growth.
Matthew Gadsden, Head of Research Execution, Principal Consultant, JANA Investment Advisers
Matthew (Matt) Gadsden is a Principal Consultant and JANA’s Head of Research Execution. Matt is responsible for leveraging JANA’s research expertise to drive value creation through the evolution of investment advice and thought leadership, elevating client performance outcomes across JANA’s diverse client base.
Matt has previously led JANA’s Global Equities Research Team, served as the Chair of JANA’s Implemented Consulting (Platform) Investment Committee, is a member of JANA’s Capital Markets Committee and actively consults to a range of Super and non-Super Advisory and Implemented Consulting clients.
Prior to joining JANA in January 2012, Matt worked at Plum Financial Services as a Pricing and Strategy Analyst providing pricing analysis and strategic direction to the Plum Leadership Team. Matt holds a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Finance) from RMIT University and a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.
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