The company’s growth strategy through a combination of selective acquisitions and organic investment has fueled the company’s consistent topline growth for more than 20 years. The company also has a shareholder-friendly policy by committing to return capital to shareholders by at least $500 million (a 13.5% yield) compared to the market capitalization of $3.7 billion) during the period of 2023-2025, while maintaining a moderately leveraged balance sheet. The recent volatility regarding tariffs is certainly concerning for SJ in terms of revenue growth and profitability, given the company’s high exposure to the U.S. market. That being said, we think it is still early to conclude the impact tariffs would have on SJ’s business. There should be some headwinds in terms of revenue and earnings growth. However, given the company’s decent track record of operating results, we are maintaining our ratings at “A-“, but are open to changes if the state of tariffs gets worse and negatively affects the company’s operating results.

GIB.A continues to be a global leader in the IT and consulting industry. The company’s business model is slightly sensitive to the macro environment due to its dependence on enterprise spending, which is showing some early signs of a recovery in recent quarters. GIB.A possesses a history of aggressive share buybacks, the company bought back around 49.5% of the company’s total shares outstanding over the last 20 years, which was a respectable record. The annualized returns for GIB.A during the period was around 15% on average. We see GIB.A as a low-risk, low-volatility compounder that could look attractive to investors due to the appealing combination of upside potential and downside protection, especially during this volatile period. We are maintaining our rating at “B+”.

There has been a transition in SLF’s business model from a pure insurance company into a dual asset manager insurance company. SLF has a strong financial profile and is a highly profitable business in terms of Return on Equity (ROE). SLF has a clear strategy to enhance operational efficiency, market leadership and shareholder value over time. The company recently raised dividends and repurchased shares at a more aggressive pace in years, which indicates management thinks the current valuation is attractive. SLF’s business model is highly durable and sustainable, and the company’s share price tends to hold up well amid a volatile market. We think SLF is executing well and the long-term thesis in SLF as a high-quality dividend grower across the economic cycle remains unchanged. We are maintaining our rating at “A-“.