mfs® global equity fund
TRANSCRIPT
NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NOT A DEPOSIT
Before investing, consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. For a prospectus, or summary prospectus, containing this and other information,
contact MFS or view online at mfs.com. Please read it carefully.©2022 MFS Fund Distributors, Inc., 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02199.
FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. Not to be shown, quoted, or distributed to the public.
PRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
MFS® Global Equity Fund(Class R6 Shares)
Fourth quarter 2021 investment report
34135.6
Table of Contents
FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
Country and region information contained in this report is based upon MFS classification methodology which may differ from the methodology used by individual benchmark providers.
Performance and attribution results are for the fund or share class depicted and do not reflect the impact of your contributions and withdrawals. Your personal performance results may
differ.
Portfolio characteristics are based on equivalent exposure, which measures how a portfolio's value would change due to price changes in an asset held either directly or, in the case of a
derivative contract, indirectly. The market value of the holding may differ.
PageContents
Fund Risks 1
Disciplined Investment Approach 2
Market Overview 3
Executive Summary 4
Performance 5
Attribution 6
Significant Transactions 10
Portfolio Positioning 11
Characteristics 13
Portfolio Outlook 15
Portfolio Holdings 20
Additional Disclosures 22
0
Fund Risks
FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
The fund may not achieve its objective and/or you could lose money on your investment in the fund.
Stock: Stock markets and investments in individual stocks are volatile and can decline significantly in response to or investor perception of, issuer, market, economic,
industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, environmental, public health, and other conditions.
International: Investments in foreign markets can involve greater risk and volatility than U.S. investments because of adverse market, currency, economic, industry,
political, regulatory, geopolitical, or other conditions.
Please see the prospectus for further information on these and other risk considerations.
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FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
Disciplined Investment Approach
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FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
Market Overview
Global equity markets finished 2021 strongly, driven by robust earningsgrowth despite a COVID-19 resurgence due to the Omicron variant.Central banks have started to rein in monetary stimulus or raise interestrates to offset inflation pressures, indicating a “regime change” followingmany years of very low inflation and easy money.
With slowing growth momentum, fading stimulus and high marketvaluation, the spectacular returns of the past decade seem unlikely to berepeated in the coming years.
Market review as of 31-Dec-21
Region performance (%) (USD) as of 31-Dec-21
4Q 2021
10.07.2
5.7 5.6
-0.1-1.3
-4.0
26.5 26.0
15.718.5
4.7
-2.5
1.7
Un
ite
d S
tate
s
Ca
na
da
Eu
rop
e e
x U
K
UK
Pa
cifi
c e
x Ja
pa
n
Em
erg
ing
M
ark
ets
Jap
an
1 Year
Source: FactSet. Region performance based on MSCI regional/country indexes.
Sector performance (%) (USD) as of 31-Dec-21
4Q 2021
13.311.4 11.1
10.1 9.68.5 8.0
5.94.8 3.9
-1.7
30.1
10.8
28.6
16.8
13.6
18.320.3
17.1
41.9
28.7
15.0
Info
rmat
ion
Te
chn
olo
gy
Util
ities
Rea
l Est
ate
Mat
eria
ls
Co
nsu
mer
Sta
ple
s
Co
nsu
mer
Dis
cret
ion
ary
Hea
lth C
are
Ind
ust
rial
s
En
erg
y
Fin
anci
als
Co
mm
un
icat
ion
Serv
ices
1 Year
Source: FactSet. Sector performance based on MSCI sector classification. The analysisof MSCI World Index constituents are broken out by MSCI defined sectors.
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3
Executive Summary
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Sector weights (%) as of 31-Dec-21 Portfolio Benchmark^^
Top overweights
Industrials 19.5 10.2
Health Care 19.6 12.6
Consumer Staples 13.8 6.9
Top underweights
Information Technology 15.5 23.7
Financials 9.1 13.2
Consumer Discretionary 8.4 12.3
MSCI World Index^^
The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) was developed by
and/or is the exclusive property of MSCI, Inc. and S&P Global Market
Intelligence Inc. ("S&P Global Market Intelligence"). GICS is a service
mark of MSCI and S&P Global Market Intelligence and has been licensed
for use by MFS. MFS has applied its own internal sector/industry
classification methodology for equity securities and non-equity securities
that are unclassified by GICS.
Performance results (%) R6 shares at NAV (USD) as of 31-Dec-21
Portfolio Benchmark^
13.1414.50
20.58
17.45
6.00
12.7015.03
21.70 21.82
7.77
10 year 5 year 3 year 1 year 4Q 202110 year 5 year 3 year 1 year 4Q 2021
Performance data shown represent past performance and are no guarantee of future results.
Investment return and principal value fluctuate so your shares, when sold,may beworthmore
or less than the original cost; current performance may be lower or higher than quoted. For
most recent month-end performance, please visitmfs.com.
Performance results reflect any applicable expense subsidies and waivers in effect during the
periods shown. Without such subsidies and waivers the fund's performance results would be less
favorable. All results assume the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains.
Shares are available without a sales charge to eligible investors.
Source for benchmark performance SPAR, FactSet Research Systems Inc.
For periods of less than one-year returns are not annualized.
MSCI World Index (net div)^
Performance for Class R shares includes the performance of the fund's Class I shares, adjusted to
take into account differences in sales loads and class-specific operating expenses (such as Rule
12b-1 fees), if any, for periods prior to their offering. Please see the prospectus for additional
information about performance and expenses.
The MFS Global Equity Fund underperformed the MSCI World Index(net div) in the fourth quarter of 2021.
DetractorsContributors
Individual stocks:•
Accenture Plc-
Cie Financiere Richemont SA-
Schneider Electric SA-
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc-
Linde Plc-
• Information Technology – StockselectionIndividual stocks:•
Medtronic Inc-
Comcast Corp-
Tesla Inc (not held)-
Groupe Danone SA-
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Performance Results
FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
Performance results (%) R6 shares at NAV (USD) as of 31-Dec-21
PeriodExcess return vs
benchmark (%)Benchmark^ (%)Portfolio (%)
1Q 2021 -1.074.923.85
2Q 2021 0.017.747.76
3Q 2021 -0.98-0.01-0.99
4Q 2021 -1.777.776.00
2017 1.6422.4024.04
2018 -0.80-8.71-9.51
2019 2.9927.6730.66
2020 -1.6515.9014.25
2021 -4.3721.8217.45
10 year 0.4412.7013.14
5 year -0.5315.0314.50
3 year -1.1221.7020.58
1 year -4.3721.8217.45
Performance data shown represent past performance and are no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value fluctuate so your shares, when sold,
may beworthmore or less than the original cost; current performancemay be lower or higher than quoted. Formost recentmonth-end performance, please visit mfs.com.
Performance results reflect any applicable expense subsidies and waivers in effect during the periods shown. Without such subsidies and waivers the fund's performance results
would be less favorable. All results assume the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains.
Shares are available without a sales charge to eligible investors.
Source for benchmark performance SPAR, FactSet Research Systems Inc.
For periods of less than one-year returns are not annualized.
MSCI World Index (net div)^
Performance for Class R shares includes the performance of the fund's Class I shares, adjusted to take into account differences in sales loads and class-specific operating
expenses (such as Rule 12b-1 fees), if any, for periods prior to their offering. Please see the prospectus for additional information about performance and expenses.
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Performance Drivers - Sectors
Relative
contribution
(%)
Relative to MSCI World Index (USD) - fourth
quarter 2021
Currency
effect (%)
Stock
selection (%)
Sector
allocation (%)
Benchmark
returns (%)
Portfolio
returns (%)
Average
relative
weighting (%)
+ + =21
Contributors Consumer Discretionary 0.40.00.4-0.08.513.6-3.9
Financials 0.30.00.10.23.95.4-4.3
Materials 0.2-0.10.20.010.113.21.9
Industrials 0.1-0.00.3-0.15.97.59.6
Energy 0.1-0.0–0.14.8–-3.2
Detractors Information Technology -1.70.0-1.3-0.413.34.7-7.8
Health Care -0.70.0-0.7-0.08.04.37.3
Communication Services -0.20.0-0.40.2-1.7-6.0-1.6
Utilities -0.10.0–-0.111.4–-2.7
Real Estate -0.1-0.0–-0.111.1–-2.7
Cash -0.1-0.0–-0.1–0.00.8
Consumer Staples -0.1-0.1-0.10.19.68.16.8
Total -1.80.0-1.6-0.27.96.0
Sector allocation is calculated based upon each security's price in local currency.1
Stock selection is calculated based upon each security's price in local currency and included interaction effect. Interaction effect is the portion of the portfolio's relative
performance attributable to combining allocation decisions with stock selection decisions. This effect measures the relative strength of the manager's convictions. The
interaction effect is the weight differential times the return differential.
2
Attribution results are generated by the FactSet application utilizing a methodology that is widely accepted in the investment industry. Results are based upon daily holdings
using a buy-and-hold methodology to generate individual security returns and do not include fees or expenses. As such, attribution results are essentially estimates and do not
aggregate to the total return of the portfolio, which can be found elsewhere in this presentation. To obtain the contribution calculation methodology and a complete list of every
holding’s contribution to the overall portfolio’s performance during the measurement period, please email [email protected].
The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) was developed by and/or is the exclusive property of MSCI, Inc. and S&P Global Market Intelligence Inc. ("S&P Global Market
Intelligence"). GICS is a service mark of MSCI and S&P Global Market Intelligence and has been licensed for use by MFS. MFS has applied its own internal sector/industry
classification methodology for equity securities and non-equity securities that are unclassified by GICS.
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Performance Drivers - Stocks
Portfolio Benchmark Portfolio¹ Benchmark
Average Weighting (%) Returns (%)
Relative to MSCI World Index (USD) - fourth quarter 2021Relative
contribution (%)
Contributors Accenture Plc 2.9 0.4 30.0 30.0 0.5
Cie Financiere Richemont SA 1.4 0.1 44.8 43.9 0.4
Schneider Electric SA 3.0 0.2 17.6 17.6 0.3
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc 3.5 0.4 16.8 16.8 0.3
Linde Plc 2.4 0.3 17.8 18.5 0.2
Detractors Apple Inc – 4.3 – 25.7 -0.7
Medtronic Inc 2.6 0.3 -17.0 -17.0 -0.7
Comcast Corp 2.9 0.4 -9.6 -9.6 -0.5
Microsoft Corp – 3.8 – 19.5 -0.4
Tesla Inc – 1.4 – 36.3 -0.3
Represents performance for the time period stock was held in portfolio.1
Attribution results are generated by the FactSet application utilizing a methodology that is widely accepted in the investment industry. Results are based upon daily holdings using
a buy-and-hold methodology to generate individual security returns and do not include fees or expenses. As such, attribution results are essentially estimates and do not
aggregate to the total return of the portfolio, which can be found elsewhere in this presentation. To obtain the contribution calculation methodology and a complete list of every
holding’s contribution to the overall portfolio’s performance during the measurement period, please email [email protected].
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Significant Impacts on Performance - Detractors
Relative
contribution (%)Relative to MSCI World Index (USD) - fourth quarter 2021
Apple Inc Not holding shares of computer and personal electronics maker Apple (United States) weakened relative returns. The share price ofApple climbed over the reporting period as investors reacted favorably to the company's fourth-quarter earnings, which were inline with expectations. Notably, growth in China came in ahead of estimates, and services revenue was strong, which helped offsetweaker-than-expected iPhone sales constrained by supply chain disruptions.
-0.7
Medtronic Inc The portfolio's overweight position in medical device maker Medtronic (United States) held back relative performance as thecompany reported weaker revenue led by impacts from COVID-19 that considerably affected its Cardiovascular and NeuroSciencesegments. As a result, the company reduced its organic growth guidance, which further pressured the stock price.
-0.7
Comcast Corp The portfolio's overweight position in cable services provider Comcast (United States) hindered relative returns. Despite havingreported solid third-quarter earnings results that saw strong profitability across all segments, the company's stock price declinedas management guided to lower subscriber growth.
-0.5
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Significant Impacts on Performance - Contributors
FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
Relative
contribution (%)Relative to MSCI World Index (USD) - fourth quarter 2021
Accenture Plc An overweight position in IT servicing firm Accenture (United States) benefited relative performance. The firm's stock price roseafter the company reported solid fourth-quarter earnings results as forward sales guidance came in well ahead of consensusexpectations. The company also saw strong customer demand in the fourth quarter, which further supported the stock.
0.5
Cie Financiere
Richemont SA
The portfolio's overweight position in luxury goods company Compagnie Financière Richemont (Switzerland) boosted relativeresults. The stock price advanced as the company reported strong revenue growth for the first half of its fiscal year across allregions and distribution channels. Notably, revenues in most regions and channels exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
0.4
Schneider Electric
SA
An overweight position in electrical distribution equipment manufacturer Schneider Electric (France) contributed to relativeperformance. The stock price advanced as the company reported better-than-expected organic sales growth during the thirdquarter, driven by strong performance in its energy management segment.
0.3
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Significant Transactions
Sector Transaction type Trade (%)From 01-Oct-21 to 31-Dec-21Ending
weight (%)
Purchases Communication ServicesLIBERTY BROADBAND CORP Add 0.3 1.5
Information TechnologyVISA INC Add 0.2 2.8
IndustrialsCANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD Add 0.2 2.0
Health CareMEDTRONIC PLC Add 0.1 2.4
FinancialsWILLIS TOWERS WATSON PLC Add 0.1 1.2
Sales Health CareTHERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC Trim -0.3 3.5
Information TechnologyACCENTURE PLC Trim -0.2 3.1
IndustrialsCANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO Trim -0.2 1.7
Consumer StaplesDIAGEO PLC Trim -0.1 2.4
IndustrialsSCHNEIDER ELECTRIC SE Trim -0.1 3.2
The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) was developed by and/or is the exclusive property of MSCI, Inc. and S&P Global Market Intelligence Inc. ("S&P Global Market
Intelligence"). GICS is a service mark of MSCI and S&P Global Market Intelligence and has been licensed for use by MFS. MFS has applied its own internal sector/industry
classification methodology for equity securities and non-equity securities that are unclassified by GICS.
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Sector Weights
Portfolio (%) Benchmark^ (%)As of 31-Dec-21Underweight/
overweight (%)Top holdings
Schneider Electric SE, Canadian Pacific RailwayLtd, Honeywell International Inc
Industrials 19.5 10.2 9.3
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Roche Holding AG,Medtronic PLC
Health Care 19.6 12.6 7.0
Nestle SA, Diageo PLC, Essity ABConsumer Staples 13.8 6.9 6.9
Linde PLC, PPG Industries Inc, Akzo Nobel NVMaterials 6.2 4.2 2.0
Cie Financiere Richemont SA WarrantEquity Warrants 0.0 – 0.0
Comcast Corp, Walt Disney Co, LibertyBroadband Corp
Communication Services 6.9 8.3 -1.4
Utilities – 2.7 -2.7
Real Estate – 2.8 -2.8
Energy – 3.1 -3.1
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, CieFinanciere Richemont SA
Consumer Discretionary 8.4 12.3 -3.9
Charles Schwab Corp, Goldman Sachs Group Inc,Aon PLC
Financials 9.1 13.2 -4.1
Accenture PLC, Visa Inc, Oracle CorpInformation Technology 15.5 23.7 -8.2
MSCI World Index^
1.0% Cash & cash equivalents
0.0% Other. Other consists of: (i) currency derivatives and/or (ii) any derivative offsets.
The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) was developed by and/or is the exclusive property of MSCI, Inc. and S&P Global Market Intelligence Inc. ("S&P Global Market
Intelligence"). GICS is a service mark of MSCI and S&P Global Market Intelligence and has been licensed for use by MFS. MFS has applied its own internal sector/industry
classification methodology for equity securities and non-equity securities that are unclassified by GICS.
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Region and Country Weights
Benchmark^
(%)
Portfolio
(%)
Underweight/
overweight (%)As of 31-Dec-21 Underweight/overweight
North America -13.9
Europe ex-U.K. 15.7
United Kingdom 2.7
Japan -4.1
Asia/Pacific ex-Japan -3.1
Developed - MiddleEast/Africa
0.7
Emerging Markets 1.1
North America 58.2 72.1 -13.9
Canada 3.7 3.3 0.4
United States 54.5 68.8 -14.3
Europe ex-U.K. 30.0 14.3 15.7
France 11.6 3.2 8.4
Switzerland 8.6 2.9 5.7
Germany 3.8 2.5 1.3
Netherlands 2.7 1.4 1.3
Sweden 1.6 1.1 0.5
Spain 0.8 0.6 0.2
Austria 0.3 0.1 0.2
Denmark 0.5 0.7 -0.2
Other countries 1 0.0 1.7 -1.7
United Kingdom 6.8 4.1 2.7
Japan 2.1 6.2 -4.1
Asia/Pacific ex-Japan 0.0 3.1 -3.1
Other countries 1 0.0 3.1 -3.1
Developed - Middle East/Africa 0.9 0.2 0.7
Israel 0.9 0.2 0.7
Emerging Markets 1.1 0.0 1.1
South Korea 0.9 0.0 0.9
Mexico 0.2 0.0 0.2
1 Other
MSCI World Index^
1.0% Cash & cash equivalents
0.0% Other. Other consists of: (i) currency derivatives and/or (ii) any derivative offsets.
The portfolio does not own any securities in countries represented in the benchmark in the following percentages: Australia 1.9%; Hong Kong 0.8%; Italy 0.7% and 7countries with weights less than 0.5% which totals to 1.4%.
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Characteristics
As of 31-Dec-21 Benchmark^Portfolio
Fundamentals - weighted average
17.4% 19.0%IBES long-term EPS growth1
21.2x 19.5xPrice/earnings (12 months forward ex-negativeearnings)
11.5% 13.2%Return on invested capital
9.5% 9.8%Net Debt/EV
Market capitalization
141.8 bn 470.0 bnMarket capitalization (USD)2
Diversification
28% 19%Top ten holdings
85 1,546Number of holdings
15 23Number of countries
Turnover
10% –Trailing 1 year turnover3
ESG
113.46 136.51Carbon Intensity (Scope 1 and Scope 2)4
Risk profile (current)
89% –Active share
Risk/reward (5 year)
Standard deviation 15.42% 15.01%
Information ratio -0.15 –
MSCI World Index^
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No forecasts can be
guaranteed.
Source: FactSet
Weighted average.
US Turnover Methodology: (Lesser of Purchase or Sales)/Average MonthEnd Market ValueSource: TruCost; TruCost data coverage is at least 70% at portfolio level.The portfolio's weighted average Carbon Intensity is displayed. Eachcompany’s Carbon Intensity is calculated as its carbon dioxide equivalents(CO 2 e) from Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions divided by its revenue(tonnes of CO 2 e / $1M). Scope 1 emissions includes greenhouse gas(GHG) generated from burning fossil fuels and production processeswhich are directly owned or controlled by the company; and Scope 2emissions includes consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steamby the company. The calculations include the six GHGs covered by theKyoto Protocol on climate change and are converted into tonnes of CO 2 eon the basis of their global warming potentials. The lower the score, thelower the company’s Carbon Intensity.
Source: FactSet1
Weighted average.2
US Turnover Methodology: (Lesser of Purchase or Sales)/Average MonthEnd Market Value
3
Source: TruCost; TruCost data coverage is at least 70% at portfolio level.The portfolio's weighted average Carbon Intensity is displayed. Eachcompany’s Carbon Intensity is calculated as its carbon dioxide equivalents(CO₂e) from Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions divided by its revenue (tonnes
of CO₂e / $1M). Scope 1 emissions includes greenhouse gas (GHG)
generated from burning fossil fuels and production processes which aredirectly owned or controlled by the company; and Scope 2 emissionsincludes consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam by thecompany. The calculations include the six GHGs covered by the KyotoProtocol on climate change and are converted into tonnes of CO₂e on the
basis of their global warming potentials. The lower the score, the lowerthe company’s Carbon Intensity.
4
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Characteristics
Benchmark^ (%)Portfolio (%)Top 10 issuers as of 31-Dec-21
THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC 3.5 0.4
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC SE 3.2 0.2
ACCENTURE PLC 3.1 0.4
VISA INC 2.8 0.6
COMCAST CORP 2.7 0.4
ROCHE HOLDING AG 2.6 0.5
NESTLE SA 2.6 0.6
LINDE PLC 2.5 0.3
LVMH MOET HENNESSY LOUIS VUITTON SE 2.5 0.4
DIAGEO PLC 2.4 0.2
3.927.9Total
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Portfolio Outlook and Positioning
50123.1
Market review
In some ways the year ended like it started, with a stark reminder the pandemic is far from over. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has renewed
uncertainty, with unanswered questions about its severity and resistance to vaccines. Politicians are once again grappling with tough decisions over
the repeat of lockdowns and the resumption of social distancing measures causing more economic pain to the most exposed sectors, such as
hospitality and travel.
But what is remarkable is that global equity markets have largely shrugged off the issue. The MSCI World Index (net div. in USD) returned 7.8% for the
fourth quarter to finish a very strong year with a 21.8% total return — that’s the third year in a row with double-digit returns. The US stock market
finished the year hitting all-time highs and now accounts for 68% of the MSCI World Index. Market leadership seemed to change almost weekly, with
volatility on the near-term outlook. Energy, information technology and financials finished the year as the best-performing sectors, whereas emerging
markets struggled, particularly China, which was hit by regulatory clampdowns and the near collapse of Evergrande, the world’s most indebted
property company.
Why have equity markets been so strong? The first reason is strong earnings growth (+47% estimated in 2021 for companies in the MSCI World
index). The second reason is huge liquidity flows — which have greatly distorted asset prices. This has been driven by extraordinary levels of
expansive monetary and fiscal policies during the pandemic, far exceeding the levels from the global financial crisis and leaving governments with
mountains of debt to eventually repay and central banks with balance sheets the size of which have never seen in history. These policies have
encouraged investors to take more risk and a view that somehow asset prices will always be protected by governments and central banks. It seems
there is no alternative to owning equities when bond yields are so low and reflect the lowest interest rates in history. We wonder if those investors
who say they are willing to bear more risk really mean it. Or is it simply the fear of missing out on any further gains that is driving prices even higher
and herding capital into risk assets and distorting prices? Global equity markets have delivered an astonishing 12.7% annual return over the past
decade, well in excess of most predictions.
What has changed is the inflation outlook. Inflation is close to hitting 40-year highs in the United States (+6.8% in November) and 30-year highs in
Europe (Eurozone +4.9% and Germany +5.2% in November). The big debate of the year was whether inflation was transitory, as most central bankers
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Portfolio Outlook and Positioning
50123.1
believed, or more permanent. It was interesting to see the US Federal Reserve remove the term ‘transitory” from its most recent statement as it
doubled the pace of QE tapering to $30 billion and announced it will be buying $60 billion of bonds each month starting January. This puts the Fed on
course to finish asset purchases in March. Bond markets are pricing in three US interest rate hikes in both 2022 and 2023. The Bank of England, as
well as many other central banks, have already started raising interest rates. Economic growth forecasts are being dialed back, as disruption and
supply constraints caused by COVID-19 look set to continue. The OECD’s latest forecasts show global growth moderating from +5.6% in 2021 to
+4.5% in 2022 and then to +3.2% in 2023.
This begs the question: Is this as good as it gets? Have we reached peak profits, peak margins, peak valuations and peak returns? Profit margins are at
all-time highs, and on a number of measures global stock markets remain at or near their highest valuations in history. Market cap to GDP ratio is
280% — way above the previous peak of 190% before the collapse of the dot-com bubble. Global M&A hit a record $5.8 trillion of deals in 2021.
Governments and central banks have little room left to maneuver, with stimulus unlikely to be repeated and now rapidly being scaled back as
inflation is well above targets. Higher inflation, rising interest rates or an unforeseen shock will probably cause a setback in markets at some point.
Predicting the outcomes in the near term are impossible, but we feel equity returns are unlikely to be as high in the next decade as they were in the
last. Therefore, to us it seems prudent to expect lower returns and take some caution on valuations. We believe that longer term, stock selection is
going to be the critical component of trying to generate alpha and avoiding significant drawdowns. One of the hallmarks of our strategy has been a
patient approach and not overpaying for assets. We are very mindful of this today as we assess the prospects and valuations of stocks on a case-by-
case basis and in the context of our “growth at a reasonable price” philosophy.
Portfolio positioning and performance
The portfolio underperformed the benchmark this quarter, notably in October and November, before recovering some lost ground in December. It
finished the year behind the benchmark.
The portfolio’s performance was hurt by not owning some large technology-driven stocks, such as Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia, which
performed strongly due to a combination of good earnings results and investor sentiment, driving valuations higher. At this point, we do not consider
them attractive investments based on concerns over the long-term sustainability of growth and/or high valuations. Some portfolio holdings lagged
the market on shorter-term concerns, for example payment stocks on fears over heightened competition and medical device stocks due to
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Portfolio Outlook and Positioning
50123.1
postponement of elective surgeries. However, we remain confident in their long-term prospects and added to some of these stocks during the
quarter as their valuations are highly attractive.
The shape of the portfolio has not changed materially as we like what we own. The biggest overweights are in industrials, health care, and consumer
staples sectors, where we continue to seek out and find great opportunities at good valuations. The portfolio is underweight information technology,
where many valuations look stretched.
We continue to lean into great opportunities in areas such as payments, cable/broadband and medical devices, which we believe are all growth areas
with positive long-term trends. We have found some great companies with strong market positions, growth opportunities and scope to improve
returns, whose shares have been trading at attractive valuations, but we feel they are being overlooked in the market gyrations and short-term focus
of other investors.
Given our bottom-up approach, our decisions are not driven by assumptions on macro variables such as inflation and interest rates. We are of course
mindful of inflation concerns and still think it is too early to observe which companies have the sustained ability to pass on higher costs to their
customers. Overall, we believe the companies owned in the portfolio have sustainable competitive advantages and relatively strong pricing power,
and they will be able to withstand the impact of rising input costs better than peers. With regards to rising interest rates, the portfolio is managed
with little exposure to bond proxy sectors such as utilities and real estate and is less exposed to “long duration” assets, notably technology stocks with
high terminal values, which are at risk from bigger discounting when interest rates rise. On the flipside, the portfolio’s underweight to financials could
be a headwind in a rising interest rate environment, but we have found few financial firms that we feel are capable of delivering above-average
growth and returns.
Portfolio activity in Q4
Key trades in the portfolio during the fourth quarter included the following:
We added to our position in Liberty Broadband, the holding company for media billionaire John Malone's stake in Charter Communications.
We believe it has strong long-term prospects driven by continuing growth in broadband internet services, margin improvement potential and
declining capital intensity. Management has demonstrated strong capital allocation and a clear focus on returns.
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Portfolio Outlook and Positioning
50123.1
We added to Canadian Pacific Railway following its recent acquisition of Kansas City Southern. The company has a diversified freight mix,
favorable commodity exposure and an expanded rail network connecting Canada, US, and Mexico, with potential synergies from the deal.
Rail companies generally grow in line with GDP and industrial production and are taking share from road transport. We believe Canadian
Pacific Railway is well positioned to strive for above-average growth and return over the long term, and the stock’s valuation is attractive.
We added to our position in Visa following the stock's recent underperformance. We believe Visa has sustainable above-average growth and
return prospects driven by its strong brand, the network effect nature of its business model, high barriers to entry to the global payment
processing business, and the long-term secular trend of increasing electronic payments.
We continue to add to insurance and professional services firm Willis Towers Watson after Aon abandoned its takeover approach due to
objection from the US Department of Justice. We believe the shares are attractively valued, and the company will benefit from stronger
insurance pricing over the next few years. In addition, we believe the company's Human Capital & Benefit Division will have a positive impact
from improving employment conditions.
We added to Walt Disney following the stock's recent underperformance. We believe Disney's strong brands will continue to produce
sustainable cash flows, and the monetarization of its high-quality media assets through streaming will generate strong revenue and earnings
growth over the long term.
We trimmed the positions in Thermo Fisher Scientific, Accenture, Canadian National Railway, Diageo and Schneider Electric following their
outperformance. We used some of the proceeds from Canadian National Railway to purchase additional shares of Canadian Pacific Railway.
Summary
The macro environment is changing. Following a decade of falling interest rates, we are approaching the point of “regime change.” Central bankers
have started to rein in and taper their asset purchases and started to raise interest rates to offset inflationary pressures. This turn in the direction of
monetary policy has implications for all asset classes. Much of the “buy case” for equities has rested on their offer of relative value compared to low-
yielding bonds. For a while, equities have not looked cheap to us in absolute terms.
Equity valuations in some sectors look stretched and risks are abundant — heightened inflation, fading stimulus, higher taxes, trade wars, potential
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Portfolio Outlook and Positioning
50123.1
central bank policy mistakes, new COVID variants and ongoing geopolitical risks around the world. With profit margins at all-time highs it seems right
to ask if this as good as it gets. In our view, investors should prepare for the potential of lower returns and might be unlikely that the spectacular
returns of the past decade will be repeated.
Our recent relative performance has been disappointing against the very strong market returns, but we are heartened by what lies ahead. In previous
cycles we demonstrated that our philosophy added value for clients when most needed, and delivered strong relative performance over full market
cycles. We try not to worry too much about macro gyrations, but we do worry about paying the right price as we believe valuation is a key
determinant of long-term returns. We have a clear strategy of investing in companies with sustainable growth through the cycle with a strong focus
on downside risk management, assessing risk that others often seem to overlook. We are confident this will serve you well in the years ahead.
The commentary included in this report was based on a representative fully discretionary portfolio for this product style; as such the commentary may include securities not held inyour portfolio due to account, fund, or other limits.
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Portfolio Holdings
FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
CountryEquivalent
exposure (%)As of 31-Dec-21
Cash & Cash Equivalents 1.0
1.0Cash & Cash Equivalents
Communication Services 6.9
2.7United StatesComcast Corp
1.7United StatesWalt Disney Co
1.5United StatesLiberty Broadband Corp
0.8United KingdomWPP PLC
0.2United StatesOmnicom Group Inc
Consumer Discretionary 8.4
2.5FranceLVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE
1.4SwitzerlandCie Financiere Richemont SA
0.9United StateseBay Inc
0.7United KingdomCompass Group PLC
0.6United StatesMarriott International Inc/MD
0.6United KingdomBurberry Group PLC
0.5United StatesAptiv PLC
0.4FranceEssilorLuxottica SA
0.4United KingdomWhitbread PLC
0.4FranceHermes International
Consumer Staples 13.8
2.6SwitzerlandNestle SA
2.4United KingdomDiageo PLC
1.6SwedenEssity AB
1.5FrancePernod Ricard SA
1.5FranceDanone SA
1.5NetherlandsHeineken NV
1.4United KingdomReckitt Benckiser Group PLC
0.9United StatesColgate-Palmolive Co
0.5DenmarkCarlsberg AS
Equity Warrants 0.0
0.0SwitzerlandCie Financiere Richemont SA Warrant
Financials 9.1
1.6United StatesCharles Schwab Corp
CountryEquivalent
exposure (%)As of 31-Dec-21
Financials 9.1
1.6United StatesGoldman Sachs Group Inc
1.3United StatesAon PLC
1.2United StatesAmerican Express Co
1.2United StatesWillis Towers Watson PLC
0.9SwitzerlandUBS Group AG
0.4GermanyDeutsche Boerse AG
0.4SwitzerlandJulius Baer Group Ltd
0.3AustriaErste Group Bank AG
0.2MexicoGrupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV
Health Care 19.6
3.5United StatesThermo Fisher Scientific Inc
2.6SwitzerlandRoche Holding AG
2.4United StatesMedtronic PLC
1.7United StatesStryker Corp
1.6United StatesAbbott Laboratories
1.6GermanyMerck KGaA
1.4United StatesBoston Scientific Corp
1.0United StatesCooper Cos Inc
0.9GermanyBayer AG
0.9United StatesWaters Corp
0.7United StatesZimmer Biomet Holdings Inc
0.6JapanHoya Corp
0.4JapanOlympus Corp
0.3SwitzerlandSonova Holding AG
Industrials 19.5
3.2FranceSchneider Electric SE
2.0CanadaCanadian Pacific Railway Ltd
2.0United StatesHoneywell International Inc
1.7CanadaCanadian National Railway Co
1.5United StatesEquifax Inc
1.2United States3M Co
1.2FranceLegrand SA20
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Portfolio Holdings
FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
CountryEquivalent
exposure (%)As of 31-Dec-21
Industrials 19.5
1.1JapanKubota Corp
1.1United StatesUnited Parcel Service Inc
0.9United StatesUnion Pacific Corp
0.8SpainAena SME SA
0.6United KingdomRolls-Royce Holdings PLC
0.5United StatesOtis Worldwide Corp
0.5GermanyBrenntag SE
0.4GermanyMTU Aero Engines AG
0.3SwitzerlandAdecco Group AG
0.3United StatesCarrier Global Corp
0.2NetherlandsWolters Kluwer NV
Information Technology 15.5
3.1United StatesAccenture PLC
2.8United StatesVisa Inc
1.6United StatesOracle Corp
1.3United StatesFiserv Inc
1.3United StatesFidelity National Information Services Inc
1.2United StatesCognizant Technology Solutions Corp
0.9IsraelCheck Point Software Technologies Ltd
0.9South KoreaSamsung Electronics Co Ltd
0.8United StatesPayPal Holdings Inc
0.7United StatesAmphenol Corp
0.6United StatesMicrochip Technology Inc
0.4United StatesCisco Systems Inc/Delaware
Materials 6.2
2.0United StatesLinde PLC
1.1United StatesPPG Industries Inc
1.1NetherlandsAkzo Nobel NV
0.9FranceAir Liquide SA
0.6United StatesInternational Flavors & Fragrances Inc
0.5United StatesLinde PLC
CountryEquivalent
exposure (%)As of 31-Dec-21
Other -0.0
-0.0Other*
Other consists of: (i) currency derivatives and/or (ii) any derivative offsets.* Short positions, unlike long positions, lose value if the underlying asset gains value.
The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) was developed by and/or is the
exclusive property of MSCI, Inc. and S&P Global Market Intelligence Inc. ("S&P Global
Market Intelligence"). GICS is a service mark of MSCI and S&P Global Market
Intelligence and has been licensed for use by MFS. MFS has applied its own internal
sector/industry classification methodology for equity securities and non-equity
securities that are unclassified by GICS.
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Additional Disclosures
FOR DEALER AND INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. - MFS Global Equity FundPRPEQ-LGE-31-Dec-21
Index data source: MSCI. MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data
contained herein. The MSCI data may not be further redistributed or used as a basis for other indices or any securities or financial products. This report is not approved,
reviewed or produced by MSCI.
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