Knowledge Leaders

Spotlight Ajinomoto: The Inventor of Umami April 24, 2023

Posted by Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

The Ajinomoto Group makes amino acids used for everything from seasoning food to pharmaceuticals to manufacturing semiconductors. This Tokyo, Japan-based company’s roots go back to 1899, when Dr. Kikunae Ikeda set to work researching amino acids in order to bring Western health standards to Japan…

Read More

Spotlight Lasertec: In Search of Flawless Semiconductors March 16, 2023

Posted by Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

Based in Yokohama, Japan, Lasertec makes advanced inspection tools for semiconductor manufacturing. Using optical technology, its systems find defects too tiny to be seen by the human eye. In the semiconductor manufacturing process, defects may appear first on the photomask layer of a chip. If…

Read More

In our Quarterly Strategy Report, we illustrate the relative attractiveness of select developed international sectors. Prefer to download this presentation in PDF? Please click here. 1. Summary -Monetary policy is considerably more restrictive than many perceive. The San Francisco Federal Reserve has calculated a “Proxy Rate” that…

Read More

International Innovation November 02, 2022

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Knowledge Leaders, Markets, Portfolio Management

Investors in innovation tend to focus on the US exclusively, and some of that is for good reason as the US spends more than any other country on research and development. But there are many innovative companies outside the US that spend substantial sums on…

Read More

Spotlight LHC Group: Innovating Home Health Care October 26, 2022

Posted by Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

LHC Group provides home health care services to patients in the United States, including post-acute, therapy, and hospice care. The firm also runs 124 residential facilities serving patients who have transitioned out of a hospital but whose conditions remain too severe to go home. Based…

Read More

Knowledge Leaders US Mid-Large Innovation Analysis October 25, 2022

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Knowledge Leaders, Markets

In recent reports, we’ve been highlighting that innovation—as a factor represented by R&D as % of sales—has stopped underperforming and it is selling for an attractive valuation. We used the S&P 500, Russell 2000 and other off-the-shelf indexes. Today we will highlight one of our…

Read More

Spotlight Jack Henry: Empowering Financial Freedom October 19, 2022

Posted by Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

Headquartered in Monett, Missouri, Jack Henry makes an extensive array of financial technologies and services that connect banks to the people and businesses they serve. With a mission to help empower financial freedom, Jack Henry serves the two-thirds of the American population that is not…

Read More

S&P 500 Innovation Leaders vs. Followers October 18, 2022

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Knowledge Leaders, Markets

While many perceive the S&P 500 Index to be a broad innovation-heavy index, in a way it is and in a way it isn’t. It is an innovation-heavy index in so far as aggregate R&D investments total $478.8 billion, but it isn’t so innovation-heavy in…

Read More