When seeking an opportunity heading into the last quarter of the year, investors need to look no further than the Natixis Loomis Sayles Focused Growth ETF (LSGR ). The actively managed fund outperforms the broad equity market and its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index.
LSGR invests primarily in quality large-cap growth companies. It uses a thorough, seven-step, research-intense analysis process when selecting securities. Screens include finding companies currently trading at a discount to their intrinsic value and selecting those with sustainable growth prospects. These companies also demonstrate competitive advantages in their relevant industries.
The fund manager, Aziz Hamzaogullari, CFA, Founder, CIO for the Growth Equity Strategies Team at Loomis Sayles, also adheres to a strict buy-and-sell protocol. Hamzaogullari is also a member of Loomis Sayles’ board of directors.
LSGR maintains a long-term time horizon in its approach to growth trends, akin to how one approaches private equity. While some of its securities may underperform in the short term, prospects remain strong for the next decade and beyond. The strategy defines risk not by tracking error or underperformance but by a permanent loss of capital.
The ETF’s strategy resulted in outperformance year to date on a total returns basis. LSGR is up 25.78% in total returns as of 9/27/24. The ETF outperformed the broad equity market, represented by the Russell 1000 Index, up 20.71% YTD. It also outperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index, up 23.94% over the same period.
LSGR is semitransparent, meaning it does not share its holdings with the public daily. Instead, it uses a proxy portfolio, published daily, that includes some but not all of the ETF’s holdings. The fund has a management fee of 0.59% and a contract waiver that expires 4/30/26.
Hamzaogullari is a portfolio manager of LSGR and the firm’s Global Growth Fund (LSGGX), Growth Fund (LSGRX), International Growth Fund (LIGYX), and U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund (NESYX).
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