Beutel Goodman follows a very disciplined bottom up, value focused approach, that is heavy on risk management. The managers are given a lot of flexibility, which results in a concentrated portfolio that often looks much different from the benchmark. In addition to having sector weights that are different, the funds will also typically have exposure to more small and mid-cap names than a number of their peers.
In certain mandates, for example Canadian equity, this process has produced stellar results, with funds that typically outperform their peers more often than not.
Unfortunately this process has not translated into the same sort of success with their global and international mandates, which have struggled to keep pace. In 2014, their international fund has been the worst performing foreign equity fund that I follow.
A big reason for this underperformance is the fund has about 85% invested in Europe, which has disappointed this year, thanks to a nonexistent economic recovery. That said, when Europe turns around, this fund is well positioned for a nice rebound.
Still, I’m not waiting around for that to happen. There are definitely stronger international and global equity options available. If you want to invest with Beutel, I would suggest you stick to their Canadian equity mandates where they really shine.