One challenge with researching investments over time is that companies sometimes change names as they grow and mature. As you search through our archives, one such example of this you will find is Trimark investments, which was known for its deep value investing approach.

Long known as Trimark Investments or AIM Trimark, the company changed its name in August 2008 to Invesco Trimark to reflect its relationship with Invesco Ltd., the parent company of Trimark investments. Their commitment to deep value investing remained unchanged during this transition.

In 2018, Invesco retired the “sub-brand” Trimark in all markets, including Canada, though the principles of deep value investing continued to influence their strategy.

Invesco is one of Canada’s largest investment-management companies. Choices for Invesco investments include its families of ETFs, mutual funds, private pools and principal protected notes.

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Trimark investments had a long-time approach to stock picking that served them well before being taken over by Invesco. Specifically, they bought high-quality investments and held them for the long term, exemplifying deep value investing in practice. This gave purchasers of Trimark investments access to steady returns with below-average risks.

For your interest, one past recommendations in our conservative fund portfolio was the Trimark Fund, a well-established and globally invested fund. Here’s what the fund looked like:

TRIMARK FUND (CWA Rating: Conservative) took a value-seeking investment approach, and this cut its risk. This fund stuck to the long-time Trimark approach to stock picking — buying high-quality investments and holding them for the long term. This eventually gives investors steady returns with below-average risk.

The $4.2-billion Trimark Fund’s top 10 holdings were Nestle SA (Swiss food & beverages), Nokia (Finnish mobile phones), Novartis AG (health care and pharmaceuticals), Reed Elsevier NV (Netherlands publishing & data), Cisco Systems (electrical & electronic), Roche Holdings (biotechnology and pharmaceuticals), Kinetic Concepts Inc. (medical services), Microsoft (computer software & processing), Willis Group Holdings (U.K. insurance) and Accor SA (French hotels & business services). Regionally, the fund’s portfolio was distributed 33.39% in the U.S., 27.78% in Switzerland, 13.81% in the U.K., 6.4% in Norway, 5.75% in Germany, 3.9% in France, 2.40% in Austria, and 6.86% in other countries. Trimark Fund’s MER is 1.62%.

Trimark Fund gained 5.49% annually over twenty years, compared to a gain of 4.83% for the group average.

In summary, this article chronicles the evolution of Trimark Investments, a prominent Canadian investment firm that eventually became part of Invesco Ltd. The company’s journey includes several name changes, from Trimark Investments to AIM Trimark, then to Invesco Trimark in 2008, before finally retiring the Trimark brand in 2018. Throughout these transitions, the firm maintained its fundamental deep value investing philosophy.

The article highlights the Trimark Fund as a prime example of their investment approach, which emphasized high-quality investments and long-term holding periods. This conservative strategy resulted in steady returns with below-average risk. The fund’s portfolio showed significant international diversification, with investments spread across multiple countries, including the United States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Notable aspects of the fund included its diverse holdings in global blue-chip companies such as Nestle, Nokia, and Microsoft, spanning various sectors from technology to healthcare. The fund’s performance was impressive, achieving a 5.49% annual return over twenty years, outperforming the group average of 4.83%. This success demonstrated the effectiveness of their disciplined investment approach and long-term perspective.

This article was originally published in 2018.