Three decades of discipline: Allspring Systematic Global Equity
John Campbell, Vince Fioramonti, and Justin Carr describe the approach behind three decades of systematic global equity investing at Allspring.
Transcript
John Campbell: At Allspring, we've spent three decades managing systematic equity strategies, combining quantitative breadth with experienced fundamental judgement.
Vince Fioramonti: Delivering consistent alpha is the foundation of active investing, and it's what our team has focused on since the 1990s. Our process begins with our proprietary quantitative alpha model that is grounded in fundamental principles. We use a systematic approach to cast a very wide net evaluating thousands of companies through different lenses to understand their relative attractiveness versus peers. Every stock is assessed daily across multiple dimensions, including valuation, quality, and momentum. But we don't rely on models alone. Every stock that enters the portfolio is fundamentally validated by the portfolio management team. This step allows us to confirm what the data is telling us and incorporate insights that are difficult to quantify. By combining disciplined quantitative breadth with experienced fundamental judgement, we aim to identify the winners, avoid the losers, and build portfolios designed to deliver alpha consistently across different market environments.
Justin Carr: Today's markets are complex, and risk can emerge from many angles. Relying on a single perspective simply isn't enough. That's why risk management is fully embedded in our investment process. We combine multiple quantitative risk models with deep, fundamental insights to build a complete picture of risk. We assess fundamental risks like common factor, style, and beta as well as macroeconomic risks such as interest rates, commodities, and currencies. This helps us to understand how broad economic shifts may impact the portfolio. We also focus on risks that are harder to quantify, such as new and emerging risks or idiosyncratic risks, including geopolitical developments, AI (artificial intelligence), or company-specific issues that may not yet be reflected in the data. By applying both top-down and bottom-up analysis, we seek to avoid unintended exposures, reduce surprises, and deliver a smoother and more consistent path of excess returns.
John Campbell: Across our strategies, one principle is consistent. We build true core equity exposures. That means carefully managing regional, sector, and stock-level exposures relative to the benchmark while targeting a beta of around one. The goal is to deliver the market exposure investors expect with alpha driven by stock selection rather than unintended risk.
Key takeaways
- Allspring's systematic global equity heritage stretches back to the early 1990s
- Learn how the team builds global equity exposure in today’s complex, fast-moving markets
- Discover a disciplined approach that seeks consistent alpha, managed risk and global equity exposure
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