What it does? MarketAxess is an electronic trading platform that applies technology to the historically opaque bond trading market.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: MarketAxess improves the transparency and reduces the costs of trading in fixed income markets, which helps to ensure fair and transparent markets.     

Prosperity: What.

What it does? AIA is a leading insurance and savings company in Asia-Pacific, specialising in life and health insurance.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: AIA’s products enable customers to better manage the risk of ill-health or death, reducing the need to hold large savings buffers in regions with minimal social safety net and a huge protection gap.

People: What.

What it does? IMCD is a specialty chemicals distributor with global operations.  They have a particular focus on helping small and medium sized customers develop new formulations.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: IMCD’s uses its technical expertise to help its customers find ways to develop more sustainable products, using fewer harmful materials, and doing more with less.  This is a strategic priority, and a way they are differentiating themselves from smaller competitors. 

Planet: How.

What it does? TSMC is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of semiconductors, which are used in every electronic and connected product.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: TSMC’s scale and dependability make it a critical partner in the semiconductor value chain, enabling faster and more efficient innovation which benefits society as a whole.

Prosperity: What.

What it does? Shopify is a Canadian-based e-commerce company which helps merchants build and customise their online stores, and manage aspects of their business. 

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: Shopify has made it much easier for people to start and then scale their online businesses, and they have put merchants’ interests at the heart of how they take decisions.  They therefore help reduce the barriers to entrepreneurship. 

Prosperity: What

What it does? Workday is a human capital management (HCM) company offering finance, HR, and expense administration services.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: Workday’s scalable HCM tools help to promote fair and decent work, by offering tools that help to spread best practice across different employers.  They have developed numerous innovations to help companies ensure that they recruit and pay people fairly.  

Prosperity: How

What it does? Owner of the job search engine Indeed and the employee review site Glassdoor, Recruit is a Japanese-based technology company with operations worldwide. 

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: Recruit’s technology improves transparency and efficiency in the labour market and reduces economic hardship from frictional unemployment. Recruit seeks to go further by working with employers to reduce discrimination and help marginalised groups find work.  

Prosperity: How.

What it does? MercadoLibre began life as an online marketplace. Through internal investment, they now offer digital and mobile payments, lending, advertising, and logistics services across South America.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: Mercadolibre’s purpose is to support entrepreneurs by providing increased access to customers, infrastructure and finance.  The company plays an important role in facilitating job creation, raising incomes and improving social mobility in emerging economies.

Prosperity: How.

What it does? Atlas Copco manufactures and services equipment for a range of end markets, including compressors, industrial tools, and vacuums for the semiconductor industry.  

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: Atlas’ compressors are their most material business, and they help to reduce their customers’ energy consumption.  Their efficiency compared to alternatives is their key selling point, and helps their customers to do more with less.   

Planet: What.

What it does? Californian-based designer of graphics chips that can be used across a huge variety of applications including gaming, autonomous vehicles and machine learning.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis? Nvidia has established itself as the dominant provider of AI chips and software – the ‘picks and shovels’ of the digital revolution. It enables scientific advances that will provide a broader benefit to society.

Prosperity: What.

What it does? Software platform that enables customers to purchase and manage data-driven digital advertising campaigns.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis? TTD shows leadership in the way it treats customers and their data, as well as its attitude to addressing the externalities of the advertising industry.

Prosperity: How.

What it does? Primarily a manufacturer and distributor of electric vehicles globally. It also has operations focussed on the development of clean energy solutions such as solar power and energy storage.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis? Its core products are aimed at addressing the material global challenge of climate change. Tesla’s reason for existence is to accelerate the world’s transition to renewable energy.

Planet: What.

What it does? A global transport and logistics business operating across road, air, sea, rail freight and warehousing.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis? It helps shippers reduce the carbon intensity of their supply chains through its influence with carriers and customers (as a major customer service provider), efficient systems for optimising routes, and data services.

Planet: How.

What it does? Swedish distributor of refrigeration and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, as well as being a manufacturer of eco-friendly refrigeration systems and heat pumps. 

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis? It can accelerate the market’s transition to more efficient, lower-emitting HVAC units by influencing the decisions of both suppliers and installers in the industry.

Planet: How.

What it does? L’Oreal is a global leader in the cosmetics and personal care industry with an extensive range of well-known products and brands, including Mabelline, Lancome and Kiehl’s.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: L’Oreal is using its position to improve environmental standards across its industry and beyond. This is reflected in ambitious targets towards both the climate and biodiversity impact, from how they produce products to deep within the supply chain. As well as the direct impact of these initiatives, we believe this example can influence suppliers, customers, and competitors. 

Planet: How.

What it does? Watsco is the largest distributor of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment in the US.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: Watsco has consolidated the market and in doing so it has hastened its move to more energy efficient equipment. Through acquisition, Watsco’s scale has allowed it to invest in technology to a much greater extent than any of the individual ‘mom and pop’ distributors could have done on their own.

Planet: How.

What it does? Texas Instruments (TI) is the world leader in analog semiconductors. It benefits from the growing number of connected devices and, within those devices, an ever greater number of chips.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: TI is among the best-run companies in the world, with a deep competitive moat and counter-cyclical approach to capital allocation. Its leading business practices allow them to attract and retain talent and build long-term partnerships with customers and suppliers.

Prosperity: How.

What it does: Mastercard is one of two globally-dominant payment networks. The business benefits from the growth in transaction volumes and the shift from physical cash towards electronic forms of payment.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: Mastercard has ambitious goals for financial inclusion, partnering with the World Bank and other NGOs to bring 1 billion individuals into the financial system by 2025, with a focus on unbanked communities and women. 

What it does: Alphabet’s core Google Search product boasts more than 90% market share. The company has eight other internet services with more than a billion users each.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: Alphabet's largely free tools have helped revolutionise access to information and learning and allowed smaller businesses to scale fast. Today the company is at the forefront of innovations in fields such as artificial intelligence, and we believe they have a catalysing effect on innovation in many realms. 

What it does: UnitedHealth is a leading American healthcare company that provides a wide range of health-related services for individuals and employees.

Sustainable Growth Hypothesis: As the largest healthcare management organisation in the US, UNH plays a crucial role in allocating scarce resources, improving patient outcomes, and containing costs. As the population ages, UNH is leading the industry in a shift to more integrated care.