Amundi Asset Management US Mid Cap Value 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 bottom-up investment approach, focusing on quality companies in the Mid Cap space. Portfolio construction is driven by in-depth fundamental research, earnings momentum, and macroeconomic analysis. The management team leverages Amundi Asset Management's global research platform to identify high-conviction opportunities while maintaining a disciplined risk management framework.

We are long-term investors, and that conviction shapes everything about how we engage with the companies in our portfolio. Unlike activist investors who seek rapid, often disruptive change, we prefer patient, constructive dialogue that builds relationships of mutual trust with management teams. Our experience is that this approach is more effective in achieving lasting improvements in strategy, governance, and sustainability — and it avoids the reputational and operational disruptions that adversarial activism can bring.

Our engagement priorities are determined through a combination of systematic screening — identifying companies with the most significant gaps between actual and best-practice ESG standards — and opportunistic identification of issues that arise through our ongoing monitoring. In any given year, our stewardship team conducts hundreds of formal engagements with portfolio companies.

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.