Behind the Numbers with Mark Schmehl

We wanted to share a recent interview featuring portfolio manager Mark Schmehl of Fidelity Investments (Behind the Numbers with Mark Schmehl), where he offers valuable insights into his investment strategy, process, and current market perspective.

I am sharing this with you as you own Mark Schmehl’s portfolio within your plan here at RJMwealth. Mark is our key growth manager who has had an exceptional track record outperforming the passive benchmark/index. His portfolios focus on innovation, and in particular (right now) AI. This is a great example of where active management continues to provide value to our client portfolios.

Mark personally relocated to San Francisco a few years back, as a manager of Fidelity Canada, to be at the epicentre of technology. This has led to incredible access to ideas, information, and investments for our portfolios (Fidelity Global Innovators and 1/3 of Fidelity Global Equity+).

You can watch the full conversation here: Behind the Numbers with Mark Schmehl (33:53)

Key Takeaways from Mark Schmehl:

Strategic Location: Relocating to San Francisco put him at the heart of the tech ecosystem, providing direct access to key innovators and real-time market insights.
Investment Philosophy: Rather than strictly adhering to traditional value or growth frameworks, he focuses on dynamic adaptability—employing the phrase "conviction lightly held" to adjust positions as data changes.
Focus on Positive Change: He targets companies undergoing actionable positive operational shifts, preferring to enter positions once market recognition begins rather than trying to call absolute bottoms prematurely.
AI Opportunities & Infrastructure "Pinch Points": Beyond headline AI companies, he capitalizes on global supply chain bottlenecks and ecosystem opportunities (such as power, optical components, and networking).
Disciplined Portfolio Pruning: He actively trims rapidly appreciating positions to manage size/emotion and routinely eliminates non-performing or low-conviction holdings.
Global Research Edge: Leverages Fidelity's extensive global analyst network to uncover early-stage opportunities across international markets.
Productivity & Human Labor: Believes AI will complement human capabilities by solving increasingly complex problems, driving broader productivity gains across sectors.
Emotional Discipline: Views maintaining a calm, unemotional mindset as essential to managing risk and capturing long-term outperformance.

While markets, and specifically technology, may experience short-term volatility we continue to have conviction in Mark as our long-term growth portfolio manager for those plans that warrant exposure.

Please let us know if you have any questions about how this strategy fits into your plan.