BlackRock Capital Advisors Russell 2000 Index Fund

At the heart of our investment philosophy lies a deep commitment to long-term value creation. We believe that sustainable returns are generated not by chasing short-term market movements, but by patiently identifying and holding assets whose intrinsic value is not yet fully reflected in market prices. Our approach draws on decades of rigorous fundamental research combined with a disciplined quantitative framework.

We evaluate every potential investment through multiple lenses: the strength of the underlying business model, the quality of management, the competitive dynamics of the industry, and the macro-economic backdrop. Our research team conducts hundreds of company visits each year, building proprietary insights that inform our conviction levels.

The fund employs a blend investment approach, focusing on growth companies in the Small Cap space. Portfolio construction is driven by in-depth fundamental research, earnings momentum, and macroeconomic analysis. The management team leverages BlackRock Capital Advisors's global research platform to identify high-conviction opportunities while maintaining a disciplined risk management framework.

Stewardship is not a compliance exercise for us — it is a fundamental expression of our fiduciary duty to clients. We believe that as significant shareholders in the companies we invest in, we have both the right and the responsibility to engage actively with management on issues that are material to long-term value creation.

Our stewardship programme is organised around three pillars: monitoring and assessment, engagement, and voting. Our monitoring framework tracks a comprehensive set of corporate governance and sustainability indicators for every holding, flagging material changes for immediate review. Our engagement programme involves direct dialogue with boards and senior management, focusing on the issues where we have the highest conviction that change will create value. Our voting programme applies a rigorous set of guidelines that prioritise shareholder rights, board accountability, and executive pay alignment.

Looking ahead, we remain constructively positioned despite the complex macro environment. Global economic growth, while moderating, continues to be supported by resilient consumer spending in developed markets and accelerating investment in emerging markets infrastructure. Central bank policy, having pivoted toward easing after the aggressive tightening cycle of 2022–2024, is now providing a more supportive backdrop for risk assets.

Our near-term concern centres on the trajectory of corporate earnings. Consensus estimates, in our view, may be pricing in an overly optimistic scenario for margin recovery. Supply-side pressures in certain sectors — particularly semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and clean energy — have subsided more slowly than anticipated, and the pass-through of higher input costs to consumers is showing early signs of fatigue. We have positioned the portfolio defensively in these areas while maintaining full exposure to sectors where the earnings visibility is highest.

Founded over three decades ago, our asset management firm has grown from a boutique advisory practice into a globally recognised investment house managing capital on behalf of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, and high-net-worth individuals across more than 40 countries. Throughout this journey, we have remained true to our founding principles: intellectual rigour, unwavering client focus, and a commitment to delivering superior risk-adjusted returns.

Our firm is independently owned, which we consider a significant structural advantage. Without the short-term earnings pressures that come with public market listing or private equity ownership, we can invest in our research capabilities, technology infrastructure, and talent development for the long term — aligning our interests completely with those of our clients.

Our investment team is one of the most experienced in the industry. The team is led by a Chief Investment Officer with over 30 years of market experience and is supported by senior portfolio managers, each of whom has spent a minimum of 15 years specialising in their respective asset classes. The team's combined experience spans every major market cycle of the past three decades.

Beyond the core portfolio management team, we maintain a dedicated research function comprising over 50 analysts organised by sector and geography. Our analysts are sector specialists — they do not rotate between industries, but instead develop deep domain expertise over many years. This specialisation allows them to identify subtle but meaningful changes in competitive dynamics, regulatory environments, and technology trajectories that generalist analysts often miss.