Top-Down Investment Process

Home / Institutional Investing / Top-Down Investment Process Top-Down Process We believe our top-down investment process—starting with macro-level analysis before selecting securities—is a key factor to our investing success. Participant Managed Accounts Portfolio Construction Starts With a Macro Perspective Our top-down investment process begins with macroeconomic theme development, which helps inform our country, sector/industry and thematic preferences—the main drivers of portfolio returns, in our view. From there, we conduct individual security analysis to select securities that best capture our higher-level preferences, which we believe are likely to outperform peers. We further believe our process is uniquely suited for managing portfolios and sets us apart from other investment managers—many of whom use “bottom-up” approaches that see key sector or country decisions as byproducts of stock picking. By actively managing these crucial higher-level decisions, we feel our top-down process allows us to exploit a greater opportunity set for generating outperformance than other approaches. Our Investment Process Our top-down investment process first establishes outlooks and develops portfolio themes to emphasize parts of the market we believe will perform best, such as different countries and stock market sectors. We then analyze individual securities and select those we believe best capture our high-level views. Global Macro Driver Analysis We analyze a wide range of economic, political and sentiment drivers to formulate forecasts and develop portfolio themes. Prospect List Definition Based on our macro driver analysis, we identify securities that best capture the high-level themes in our outlook and forecast. Security Analysis We conduct fundamental analysis to select securities with strategic attributes that provide competitive advantages over peers. Security Selection Process Our security selection is designed to leverage our top-down process. We directly apply high-level themes from our macro analysis in our security analysis and selection. Learn More About the Process Insights & Media All Personal Wealth Management Institutional Investing Media Choice Media Type Articles Podcasts Videos In The News More EXPERT COMMENTARY This Week in Review | Market Volatility, Energy Markets, US Inflation 03/13/2026 MARKET ANALYSIS Due Diligence and the DOL’s DOA Fiduciary Rule 03/13/2026 IN THE NEWS Oil prices will be lower in 6 months than when Iran conflict began, Ken Fisher argues 03/12/2026 MARKET ANALYSIS Rounding Up Odds and Ends From Global Energy Developments 03/11/2026 Contact Us Give our knowledgeable team a call today to learn more. (800) 550-1071 Contact Us Today