Earlier this year, VettaFi hosted its annual Exchange conference, bringing together some of the top minds in portfolio management. During the conference, Cinthia Murphy, VettaFi investment strategist, sat down with Rene Casis, vice president and head of strategy implementation at American Century Investments to discuss the firm’s advantages, attractive fund strategies, and more.
How American Century Stands Out
To start things off, Murphy asked Casis to explain what makes American Century different compared wity other firms in the ETF space. He noted that American Century has been in the market for about 60 years, with a focus on active management.
“The firm started its ETF business in 2018 — that’s exactly when I joined the firm,” Casis added. "Since that time, we’ve seen some astronomical growth and have a leadership position in the active ETF space.”
Casis also added that American Century has a unique leadership structure. About 40% of the firm is owned by the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, which performs research on gene-based diseases. As such, a portion of the firm’s profits do go toward research funding.
Importance of Quality
From there, Murphy pivoted the conversation to focus on market trends. She noted growth has been a key theme for a while now. But with volatile markets, advisors and investors are wondering what happens next. She asked Casis how he would navigate growth amid bouts of volatility.
As a potential solution for shifting market conditions, he floated the American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF (QGRO ). He noted the fund offers growth through a quality lens, while taking on two distinct styles of growth.
The first style QGRO looks for is companies with significant growth potential, as one would expect from a traditional growth strategy. However, from there, QGRO also seeks out growth companies being offered at compelling valuations. This blend of growth strategies gives QGRO multiple different routes for fostering long-term growth. As such, this strategy can serve as a solution as advisors look for a way to manage concentration risk.
“We have built a strategy that maintains a diversified exposure, but we put caps on maximum exposure to any one company at 3.5%,” Casis said. “That allows us to participate in that exposure, but in a way that is not overly concentrated.”
Branching Out With International Funds
ts has been a popular theme at Exchange. She asked Casis how he views potential opportunities amid international equities.
For investors looking to build international exposure, he pointed to the American Century Quality Diversified International ETF (QINT ). As Casis noted, QINT is in the same fund suite as QGRO. Similar to QGRO, QINT focuses on quality, but also tilts toward value and growth.
Looking for long-term value in international investing, Casis asserted that a quality focus can offer much to a portfolio. With macroeconomic and geopolitical risks constantly in flux, he concluded that a diversified quality approach can help manage potential risk.
“We want to build strategies where investors can feel comfortable in their asset allocation decisions throughout a full market cycle,” Casis added.
American Century Investments currently has more than 45 ETFs listed in the U.S. As a whole, these funds account for more than $68 billion in assets under management.
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VettaFi.com is owned by VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”). VettaFi is the index provider for QGRO and QINT, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, QGRO and QINT are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi. VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of QRRO and QINT.
