Key Morningstar Metrics for Trojan Global Income Fund
- : GoldMorningstar Medalist Rating
- : Above AverageProcess Pillar
- : HighPeople Pillar
- : Above AverageParent Pillar
Our conviction in this team’s investment acumen and ability to consistently execute a thoughtful process remains intact despite recent underwhelming performance. The strategy continues to merit a High People rating and an Above Average Process rating.
James Harries, a dividend veteran with three decades of investment experience, has run this strategy since its inception in 2016. Before joining Troy, Harries had been successfully managing a similar type of dividend strategy for 10 years at Newton. His independent thinking, long-term investment horizon, and willingness to invest differently from peers set him apart. Harries’ dedicated lieutenant on the strategy is comanager Tomasz Boniek, who joined in 2017. The duo demonstrates deep insights into the companies in their investable universe and can rely on their colleagues at Troy for idea generation, too. All portfolio managers run their strategies following the same investment philosophy, where quality, patience, and conviction are core elements of the approach. Only dividend-paying stocks in their collectively reviewed and approved investment universe are relevant to this portfolio. The team’s depth of fundamental analysis, differentiated perspective, and rigorous internal debate continue to underpin our conviction.
The disciplined and consistently applied approach favors high-quality companies that exhibit durable competitive advantages, have strong business models, and are run by capable management teams. They are low capital-intensive businesses that are conservatively financed, are cash generative, and pay out a robust dividend from the sweet spot. The managers build a concentrated portfolio that can stray far from peers in terms of sector exposures and country allocations, as evidenced by the historically large overweightings in the consumer sectors and companies listed in the UK. The strict quality criteria are clearly visible in the portfolio, which scores high relative to peers on metrics like return on equity or Morningstar Economic Moat Rating.
The strategy’s focus on high-quality companies and its defensive positioning have historically provided strong downside protection in volatile markets. However, style headwinds, some stock-specific missteps, and significant exposure to UK equities have hurt peer-relative performance in the postpandemic period.
The market environment over the preceding 12 months has been particularly challenging. Quality stocks have meaningfully lagged, while the strategy’s bias toward consumer defensives and mixed stock selection in healthcare have weighed on returns. In addition, concerns around artificial intelligence have hurt high-quality software holdings, and the absence of exposure to energy, mining, and banks, alongside limited involvement in semiconductors, has further detracted from performance.
This culminated in a grim period between June 2025 and May 2026, during which the strategy underperformed the Morningstar Category average by 19 percentage points and the index by 28 percentage points. It also failed to provide its usual downside protection during the market correction in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting particularly adverse conditions for its style.
Despite this, the managers remain committed to their long-term approach, a stance that investors should mirror to realize the strategy’s potential.
Trojan Global Income Fund: Performance Highlights
The strategy has historically lived up to its reputation for downside resilience, although recent performance has been markedly weaker, with the downturn intensifying since our 2025 review. A combination of pronounced stylistic headwinds, some stock-specific missteps, and a significant allocation to UK-listed companies has eroded what was a strong prepandemic track record. The current market backdrop has proved particularly challenging: Quality stocks have fallen out of favor, while the strategy’s bias toward consumer defensives and mixed stock selection in healthcare has weighed on results. At the same time, concerns around AI have pressured high-quality software holdings, and the absence of exposure to sectors such as energy, mining, and banks, alongside limited participation in semiconductors, has further hurt relative performance.
These factors culminated in a particularly grim period between June 2025 and May 2026, during which the strategy lagged the category average by 19 percentage points and the category index by 28 percentage points. Notably, the strategy also failed to deliver its typical capital protection during the market correction in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring the unusually adverse conditions for its investment style. That said, this experience is not unique, as several quality-focused dividend strategies have struggled, too.
This contrasts with the strategy’s longer-term record of strong downside protection. During the first quarter of 2020, it declined 7.9%, comfortably outperforming both the average peer (down 17%) and the category benchmark (down 21%), with holdings such as Clorox, Roche, and Microsoft providing support. Similar resilience was evident in early 2022, though the absence of sectors like energy and banks limited relative gains. More recently, performance has been weighed down by rising rates in 2023 and weak consumer and healthcare sectors and UK exposure in 2024. However, the strategy again showed defensive qualities during tariff-driven volatility in 2025.
