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GIPS® Information

T. Rowe Price ("TRP") claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. T. Rowe Price has been independently verified for the twenty four-year period ended June 30, 2020, by KPMG LLP. The verification report is available upon request. A firm that claims compliance with the GIPS standards must establish policies and procedures for complying with all the applicable requirements of the GIPS standards. Verification provides assurance on whether the firm’s policies and procedures related to composite and pooled fund maintenance, as well as the calculation, presentation, and distribution of performance, have been designed in compliance with the GIPS standards and have been implemented on a firm-wide basis. Verification does not provide assurance on the accuracy of any specific performance report.

TRP is a U.S. investment management firm with various investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, and other regulatory bodies in various countries and holds itself out as such to potential clients for GIPS purposes. TRP further defines itself under GIPS as a discretionary investment manager providing services primarily to institutional clients with regard to various mandates, which include U.S, international, and global strategies but excluding the services of the Private Asset Management group.

A complete list and description of all of the Firm's composites and/or a presentation that adheres to the GIPS® standards are available upon request. Additional information regarding the firm's policies and procedures for calculating and reporting performance results is available upon request. 

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Home / Products / SICAV / US Blue Chip Equity Fund
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SICAV

US Blue Chip Equity Fund

Seeking superior returns from high quality US companies.

ISIN LU0133088293 WKN 767360
View more information on risks
Factsheet
KIID
Fund ProfileFund Commentary

3YR Return Annualised
(View Total Returns)

Total Assets
(USD)

21.35%
$1.3b
Data as of 31-Dec-2020
Data as of 31-Dec-2020

1YR Return
(View Total Returns)

Manager Tenure

34.09%
5yrs
Data as of 31-Dec-2020
Data as of 08-Jan-2021

Information Ratio
(5 Years)

Tracking Error
(5 Years)

0.59
7.75%
Data as of 31-Dec-2020
Data as of 31-Dec-2020

Inception Date 04-May-2015

Performance figures calculated in USD

Other Literature

footerPhoto
31-Dec-2020 - Larry J. Puglia, Portfolio Manager,
The trajectory of U.S. equity markets in 2021 will likely hinge on the movement of intertest rates and progress on additional vaccine developments and their distribution. With the pandemic accelerating many secular growth trends and causing material shifts in consumer behaviour, we continue to focus on how to best position ourselves for those changes in behaviour that we believe will be permanent, and avoiding those that are likely to be transitory.
Larry J. Puglia, CFA, CPA
Larry J. Puglia, CFA, CPA, Lead Portfolio Manager

Larry J. Puglia is a portfolio manager in the U.S. Equity Division. Larry has been managing the US Large-Cap Core Growth Equity Strategy since 1993 and has had lead responsibility for all institutional accounts and other investment products within the strategy since 1997. He also is president of the Investment Advisory Committee of the US Large-Cap Core Growth Equity Strategy. Larry is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.

 

Strategy

Investment Objective

To increase the value of its shares, over the long term, through growth in the value of its investments. The fund invests mainly in a diversified portfolio of stocks of large and medium sized “blue chip” companies in the United States.

Investment Approach

  • Identify high-quality companies with leading market positions in fertile growth fields. Integrate fundamental research — emphasize sustainable growth, not momentum growth.
  • Focus on high-quality earnings, strong free cash flow growth, shareholder-oriented management, and rational competitive environments.
  • Avoid overpaying for growth, while broadly diversifying portfolios, to manage portfolio risk.

Portfolio Construction

  • Typically 100-140 stock portfolio
  • Active position sizes typically range +/- 3.00% relative to S&P 500 Index
  • Sector weights vary from 0.5X to 2.0X for primary sectors relative to S&P 500 Index

Performance (Class I)

Annualised Performance

  1 YR 3 YR
Annualised		 5 YR
Annualised		 Since Inception
Annualised
Fund % 34.09% 21.35% 19.12% 17.78%
Indicative Benchmark % 17.75% 13.52% 14.53% 12.26%
Excess Return % 16.34% 7.83% 4.59% 5.52%

Inception Date 04-May-2015

Indicative Benchmark: S&P 500 Net 30% Withholding Tax

Data as of 31-Dec-2020

Performance figures calculated in USD

  1 YR 3 YR
Annualised		 5 YR
Annualised		 Since Inception
Annualised
Fund % 34.09% 21.35% 19.12% 17.78%
Indicative Benchmark % 17.75% 13.52% 14.53% 12.26%
Excess Return % 16.34% 7.83% 4.59% 5.52%

Inception Date 04-May-2015

Indicative Benchmark: S&P 500 Net 30% Withholding Tax

Data as of 31-Dec-2020

Performance figures calculated in USD

Recent Performance

  Month to DateData as of 14-Jan-2021 Quarter to DateData as of 14-Jan-2021 Year to DateData as of 14-Jan-2021 1 MonthData as of 31-Dec-2020 3 MonthsData as of 31-Dec-2020
Fund % 0.59% 0.59% 0.59% 2.43% 8.00%
Indicative Benchmark % 1.10% 1.10% 1.10% 3.80% 12.01%
Excess Return % -0.51% -0.51% -0.51% -1.37% -4.01%

Inception Date 04-May-2015

Indicative Benchmark: S&P 500 Net 30% Withholding Tax

Indicative Benchmark: S&P 500 Net 30% Withholding Tax

Performance figures calculated in USD

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.  Source for fund performance: T. Rowe Price. Fund performance is calculated using the official NAV with dividends reinvested, if any. The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up. Investors may get back less than the amount invested. It will be affected by changes in the exchange rate between the base currency of the fund and the subscription currency, if different. Sales charges (up to a maximum of 5% for the A Class), taxes and other locally applied costs have not been deducted and if applicable, they will reduce the performance figures. 

Where the base currency of the fund differs from the share class currency, exchange rate movements may affect returns.

Index returns shown with reinvestment of dividends after the deduction of withholding taxes. 

Effective 1 June 2019, the "net" version of the indicative benchmark replaced the "gross" version of the indicative benchmark. The "net" version of the indicative benchmark assumes the reinvestment of dividends after the deduction of withholding taxes applicable to the country where the dividend is paid; as such, the returns of the new benchmark are more representative of the returns experienced by investors in foreign issuers. Historical benchmark performance has been restated accordingly.

footerPhoto
31-Dec-2020 - Larry J. Puglia, Portfolio Manager,
U.S. stocks posted gains in December, with most indices hitting all-time highs at various stages of the month. Within the portfolio, our stock choices in the information technology sector weighed on relative results the most during the month. For example, shares of Salesforce.com declined in December due to the company’s offer to buy the enterprise-communications company Slack, which raised concerns that acquiring a loss-making company would be dilutive to operating margins. Adverse stock selection in the consumer discretionary sector also hurt relative performance. Within the sector, shares of Alibaba Group Holding fell as China’s clampdown on internet and fintech giants weighed on investor sentiment, leading to a sharp sell-off. On the positive side, our underweight position in industrials and business services boosted relative results, as did our avoidance of consumer staples. The latter fell out of favour due in part to the early rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to reduce stay-at-home behaviour. We have no exposure to the consumer staples sector as it generally lacks the compelling growth opportunities that meet our investment criteria.

Holdings

Total
Holdings
122
Largest Holding Amazon.com 9.61% Was (30-Sep-2020) 9.47%
Other View Full Holdings Quarterly data as of  31-Dec-2020
Top 10 Holdings 47.45% View Top 10 Holdings Monthly data as of  31-Dec-2020

Largest Top Contributor^

Amazon.com
By 2.95%
% of fund 9.55%

Largest Top Detractor^

Alibaba Group Holding
By -1.07%
% of fund 3.09%

^Absolute

Quarterly Data as of 31-Dec-2020

Top Purchase

Amazon.com
9.47%
Was (30-Sep-2020) 9.47%

Top Sale

Alibaba Group Holding
3.06%
Was (30-Sep-2020) 4.96%

Quarterly Data as of 31-Dec-2020

footerPhoto
30-Sep-2020 - Larry J. Puglia, Portfolio Manager,

The digitalization of a wide range of industries and markets has accelerated during the pandemic. As individuals around the globe work, shop, and consume entertainment at home, companies that provide the infrastructure for the online economy have seen demand for their services boom, allowing them to extend their dominance.

�

In this environment, the companies that we are looking to invest in have various, consistent qualities that single them out as potentially advantaged long?term businesses. Such attributes include high barriers to entry, low availability of substitute products, industry leadership, and pricing power with both suppliers and customers. Also essential is capable management that can allocate capital effectively and efficiently.

Information Technology

Within the information technology sector, we focus on innovative business models that can take advantage of transformational change. We favor companies with durable businesses that address large and growing markets, including electronic payment processing and public cloud computing services.

  • We added shares of Advanced Micro Devices, a semiconductor company that develops computer processors and related technologies. We believe that the slowing of Moore's law will be beneficial to big, through-cycle secular winners such as Advanced Micro Devices. The company also benefits from superior architecture design, better products, and approximately 12 to 18 months of lead time versus its primary rival, in our view.
  • We sold VMware as we feel that an uncertain information technology spending environment related to the coronavirus pandemic could weigh on the company's performance in the near term. We redeployed the proceeds of the sale to fund more compelling opportunities.

Consumer Discretionary

We remain optimistic about stock-specific opportunities within the consumer discretionary sector. We favor businesses benefiting from the secular shift of consumer spending to online products and services. We believe industries such as physical retail and traditional media are secularly challenged; therefore, we plan to continue emphasizing companies within the sector that we think are on the right side of change and disruption.

  • We bought shares of Nike. We have a constructive view on the athletic sportswear company's growth potential as it continues to aggressively build a moat around its brand through category offense, consumer-focused innovation, and more emphasis on its digital presence as it shifts away from weak wholesale partners and takes a direct-to-consumer approach.

Communication Services

Within the communication services sector, we continue to seek attractive opportunities in companies with innovative business models that can take advantage of transformational change. We favor companies with durable business models that address large and growing markets, including internet search and advertising and social connectivity.

  • We added shares of internet platform provider Sea as both its gaming and e-commerce businesses are experiencing accelerating revenue growth due to pandemic-related tailwinds, which have reinforced a shift toward digitalization. Overall, we feel Sea's platform is well positioned to gain market share in Southeast Asia's high-margin online gaming market, with additional growth supported by an underappreciated consumer-to-consumer e-commerce marketplace.

Health Care

Our allocation to the health care sector is composed of select therapeutics and medical device companies that we believe have limited exposure to potential regulatory pressures. We are also emphasizing managed care companies positioned to benefit from industry consolidation as well as the increasing focus on providing cost-effective solutions.

  • We bought shares of biotechnology firm Incyte during the period. We think the company may be underappreciated by the market given the potential of its promising lymphoma treatment and improved visibility into the life-cycle extension of Jakafi, its treatment for bone marrow disorders.
  • We sold Becton, Dickinson & Company due to uncertainty surrounding how quickly elective medical procedures will bounce back in the wake of the pandemic. We prefer other companies in the sector that we think have better risk/reward profiles.

Sectors

Total
Sectors
7
Largest Sector Information Technology 39.00% Was (30-Nov-2020) 39.22%
Other View complete Sector Diversification

Monthly Data as of 31-Dec-2020

Indicative Benchmark: S&P 500 Index

Top Contributor^

Consumer Staples
Net Contribution 0.37%
Sector
0.37%
Selection 0.00%

Top Detractor^

Consumer Discretionary
Net Contribution -1.63%
Sector
-0.32%
Selection
-1.31%

^Relative

Quarterly Data as of 31-Dec-2020

Largest Overweight

Communication Services
By11.50%
Fund 22.27%
Indicative Benchmark 10.77%

Largest Underweight

Financials
By-7.07%
Fund 3.37%
Indicative Benchmark 10.44%

Monthly Data as of 31-Dec-2020

footerPhoto
31-Dec-2020 - Larry J. Puglia, Portfolio Manager,
The digitalisation of a wide range of industries and markets has accelerated during the pandemic. As individuals around the globe work, shop, and consume entertainment at home, companies that provide the infrastructure for the online economy have seen demand for their services boom, enabling them to extend their dominance. In this environment, the companies that we favour have particular qualities that benefit them over the long term. Such attributes include high barriers to entry, low availability of substitute products, industry leadership, and pricing power with both suppliers and customers.

Team (As of 08-Jan-2021)

Larry J. Puglia, CFA, CPA

Larry J. Puglia, CFA, CPA
Lead Portfolio Manager

Larry J. Puglia is a portfolio manager in the U.S. Equity Division. Larry has been managing the US Large-Cap Core Growth Equity Strategy since 1993 and has had lead responsibility for all institutional accounts and other investment products within the strategy since 1997. He also is president of the Investment Advisory Committee of the US Large-Cap Core Growth Equity Strategy. Larry is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.

Larry’s investment experience began in 1989, and he has been with T. Rowe Price since 1990, beginning as an investment analyst, specializing in financial services stocks, in the U.S. Equity Division. His coverage included banking, consumer finance, brokerage, investment management, and diversified financial companies. Prior to T. Rowe Price, Larry was employed by Peat Marwick Main & Co. as a senior manager.

Larry earned a B.B.A., summa cum laude, in accounting from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business, where he was a Shermet Scholar. He also has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a certified public accountant.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

  • Fund manager
    since
    2015
  • Years at
    T. Rowe Price
    30
  • Years investment
    experience
    31
Craig Watson, CPA

Craig Watson, CPA
Portfolio Specialist

Craig Watson is a portfolio specialist in the U.S. Equity Division. He is a member of the U.S. Large-Cap Growth team, working closely with institutional clients, consultants, and prospects. Craig also is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and a trustee on the T. Rowe Price Foundation, Inc.

Craig’s investment experience began in 1995, and he has been with T. Rowe Price since 2007, beginning in the U.S. Equity Division. Prior to this, Craig was employed by HSBC Securities as a senior vice president of global equity sales and by UBS as the director of institutional equity sales.

Craig earned a B.S., magna cum laude, in accounting from Hampton University and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School. He is a certified public accountant.

FA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

  • Years at
    T. Rowe Price
    13
  • Years investment
    experience
    13

Fee Schedule

Share Class Minimum Initial Investment and Holding Amount (USD) Minimum Subsequent Investment (USD) Minimum Redemption Amount (USD) Sales Charge (up to) Investment Management Fee (up to) Ongoing Charges
Class A $1,000 $100 $100 5.00% 150 basis points 1.59%
Class I $2,500,000 $100,000 $0 0.00% 65 basis points 0.69%
Class J $10,000,000 $0 $0 0.00% 0 basis points 0.03%
Class Q $1,000 $100 $100 0.00% 65 basis points 0.75%

Please note that the Ongoing Charges figure is inclusive of the Investment Management Fee and is charged per annum.

Please note that the Fund typically has a risk of high volatility.

Indicative Benchmark Data Source: Standard & Poor's. Copyright © 2018, S&P Global Market Intelligence (and its affiliates, as applicable). Reproduction of S&P 500 Index in any form is prohibited except with the prior written permission of S&P Global Market Intelligence (“S&P”). None of S&P, its affiliates or their suppliers guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, completeness or availability of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions, regardless of the cause or for the results obtained from the use of such information. In no event shall S&P, its affiliates or any of their suppliers be liable for any damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including lost income or lost profit and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of S&P information.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.  Source for fund performance: T. Rowe Price. Fund performance is calculated using the official NAV with dividends reinvested, if any. The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up. Investors may get back less than the amount invested. It will be affected by changes in the exchange rate between the base currency of the fund and the subscription currency, if different. Sales charges (up to a maximum of 5% for the A Class), taxes and other locally applied costs have not been deducted and if applicable, they will reduce the performance figures. 

Daily performance data is based on the latest available NAV. Performance returns for share classes less than 1 year old (and associated benchmarks) are cumulative rather than annualised.

Please note that no management fees are charged to the S and J share classes. No administration agent fees are charged to the J class. Fee arrangements for the S and J classes are made directly with the investment manager. Please see the prospectus for further information.

The Funds are sub-funds of the T. Rowe Price Funds SICAV, a Luxembourg investment company with variable capital which is registered with Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier and which qualifies as an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (“UCITS”). Full details of the objectives, investment policies and risks are located in the prospectus which is available with the key investor information documents in English and in an official language of the jurisdictions in which the Funds are registered for public sale, together with the annual and semi-annual reports (together “Fund Documents”). Any decision to invest should be made on the basis of the Fund Documents which are available free of charge from the local representative, local information/paying agent or from authorised distributors and via www.troweprice.com.

Hedged share classes (denoted by 'h') utilise investment techniques to mitigate currency risk between the underlying investment currency(ies) of the fund and the currency of the hedged share class. The costs of doing so will be borne by the share class and there is no guarantee that such hedging will be effective.

Net Asset figure applies to all share classes.

Number of years managing the fund. In the case of co-portfolio management, the longer tenure is displayed.

The specific securities identified and described in this report do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold, or recommended for the sub-fund and no assumptions should be made that the securities identified and discussed were or will be profitable.

A full list of the currently issued Share Classes including Distributing, Hedged, and Accumulating Categories may be obtained, free of charge and upon request, from the registered office of the Company.