Quality Growth Boutique

Like oil once powered the industrial era, chips have become a key input powering broad economic activity, with expectations for demand to continue through 2026 and into 2027. In our view, “picks-and-shovels” companies should benefit regardless of which model, hyperscaler, or foundation lab ultimately wins.

Galderma is a pure play dermatology company with steadily growing aesthetics and skin care franchises. Galderma’s Dysport is taking share from Botox, while Nemluvio, its novel itch biologic, is gaining traction. We believe the company may see long term revenue and profit growth ahead. Turns out, demand for better skin is remarkably durable.

Markets today resemble Aesop’s fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with many investors conditioned to dismiss risks after years of shallow, short-lived downturns and swift recoveries fueled by central bank interventions. We believe this complacency has led to higher valuations and reduced defensiveness, creating structural fragility.

Artificial intelligence (AI) may be one of the greatest technological breakthroughs, but it’s too early to tell. History shows that investment returns don’t always match innovation hype. However, we do know that economic fundamentals have not changed, which means that investments must become self-financing and deliver adequate returns to be sustainable.

Vontobel’s Ed Walczak is among a small number of portfolio managers active today who were also managing money during the dot-com bubble. Ed compares the two time periods and explains how having zero exposure in tech and telecom in the dot-com era, while unpopular, rewarded his investors.

While the promise of AI remains compelling, its market dominance and reliance on external financing create vulnerabilities. By seeking opportunities in areas of predictable growth and resilience – both within and outside the AI ecosystem – we believe investors can better navigate the uncertainties ahead.

Leaders in the video game industry, such as Tencent Holdings, NetEase, and Capcom, offer a distinct blend of predictability and growth through a combination of "Evergreen" titles and new game pipelines. These firms have generated recurring revenues and compounded earnings at approximately 20% annually over the past decade.

AI-driven momentum trades and non-US value dominated markets in 2025. However, the sustainability of these trends remains uncertain, particularly given unproven ROI of AI investments. Amid this backdrop, quality stocks emerge as a prudent choice, offering both resilience and steady growth potential.

International equities offer long-term structural growth opportunities. Europe is undergoing an economic transformation through defense, technology, and infrastructure investments. In our view, rising US risks, like fiscal deficits, underscore the need for diversification.

Markets inevitably shift, but global diversification endures. A thoughtfully constructed portfolio that combines leading US and non-US companies can offer meaningful advantages to long-term investors: enhanced performance potential, compelling valuations and access to growth industries where the US lags.

Quitting is often misunderstood as weakness. But in investing, selling is the overlooked half of decision-making, hindered by biases like sunk cost fallacy or FOMO. In our view, knowing when to walk away is essential for preserving capital and seizing better opportunities.

The pace of progress in AI is extraordinary. But will it displace popular music or broader media in the near term? We continue to monitor developments closely, particularly in hybrid human-AI creative workflows, evolving rights frameworks, and new monetization models that could shift competitive dynamics over time.