Large-Cap Sustainable Growth Strategy: Reporting on the impact of our investment decisions 2023

A Letter of Introduction From The Portfolio Managers

As stewards of our clients’ assets, we believe it is our obligation to consider the investment implications of sustainability-related risks and opportunities throughout our investment due diligence and decision-making process. We also believe it is incumbent on us as fiduciaries to engage with the companies we own on relevant sustainability-related issues to fulfill our duty to protect and enhance shareholder value. In service of these responsibilities, we take great effort to answer an expanded set of questions about companies to understand if a business is getting stronger, if it has high barriers to entry, if it can attract and retain the right talent, if it has a high-quality management team, if it is doing more with less, and if it is prepared for a world with greater challenges and fewer resources. Some may call these fundamental questions, others may call this sustainability analysis, and one could also argue these are characteristics that signal existential risks.

Regardless of terminology, these kinds of business risks can be managed or mismanaged. Companies can lean into opportunities or miss out on them. As long-term investors, we make every effort to understand the challenges and opportunities that may impact businesses in the decades to come. Insofar as businesses and hence investment returns depend on natural resources, a stable climate and stable societies, the long-term sustainability of these elements should be a key consideration in capital allocation.

We deliberately discuss this approach without using prevalent industry shorthand terms and acronyms that monolithically categorize an investment process. We hope this can re-set any expectation that there are shortcuts to making use of sustainability data (such as what is included in this report, and other information that eludes standard financial or voluntary disclosures). Every active, fundamental, and high-conviction investor knows that every company and every situation is unique, and investing requires intense and creative research to parse a wide swath of information, and hopefully make winning decisions more often than not.

If it were easy to do this, though, it would be automatic by now. Exploring a giant swath of data points, tactics, strategies, and heterogeneous information is not a simple undertaking. It also compels a good deal of humility, an acknowledgement of luck, and a desire to always learn more and to turn over more rocks, and to look at more information in order to arrive at investment insights.

The challenge we all face as investors is the same one we’ve faced since the Amsterdam Bourse opened in the 1600s—separating the signals from the noise—and the sustainable investing universe has grown exceedingly noisy in recent years.

Our solution to this dilemma is not especially innovative. It’s just a simple resolution to do the boring, roll-up-your-sleeves hard work. Investing is a process of continuous improvement, and there are no shortcuts or marketing materials or algorithms that can replace the diligence and discipline to tune out distractions and focus on what really matters.

We appreciate our clients’ trust in our authentic ambition to find exceptional companies at the intersection of strong fundamentals, sustainable business advantages (SBAs), and attractive valuations. We hope that this report helps to communicate an important part of what we consider in our investment due diligence and stewardship in a way that resonates with our clients.

Sincerely,

*Brown Advisory entities included are: Brown Advisory LLC, Brown Investment Advisory & Trust Company, Brown Advisory Ltd., and Brown Advisory Trust Company of Delaware, LLC.