Look beyond industry peers to find investors that are buying stocks with similar characteristics. Then tailor your message to what matters most to them.
Professional investors are using factors to build an edge…are you?
Professional investors outperform markets by owning what’s working and avoiding what’s not. Consider that over the past five years in Europe, the top 20% of stocks in Value and Dividend Yield characteristics have more than doubled the performance of the SXXP Index benchmark. At the same time, the top 20% of Growth stocks have barely generated a return. Knowing which of these factors to own (and avoid) matters for active managers, as it drives fund performance, asset flows and year-end bonus pools.
Priced on 12 October 2026
What job does my stock do in a fund portfolio?
Corporations typically search for new investors by identifying who owns their sector peers but not them. A more powerful starting point for investor targeting is to ask: what job does my stock play in a portfolio? That shifts the focus from targeting funds that own your competitors to discovering the fund managers that are buying stocks with your fundamental characteristics.
Consider Holcim AG, the Zug-based building materials and building solutions producer. By using Bloomberg’s Tilts TLTS <GO> function, we can see that company is providing above average exposure to Value (+1.0 standard deviation above the index).
By using a bespoke investor targeting app available in Bloomberg’s BQuant Python Lab BQNT <GO>, we can identify a) companies in Europe with similar fundamental characteristics and b) the fund managers that own these lookalike stocks, but not Holcim.
First, apply a set of customizable fundamental factors such as Size, Momentum, Quality, Value, Growth and Dividend Income to find peers across various sectors with the closest fundamental fit to Holcim.
Second, search through Bloomberg’s Ownership databases to find fund managers around the world that own these lookalike stocks, but not Holcim.
Third, prioritize this target list of fund managers by identifying the portfolios with the closest fundamental overlap with Holcim.
Align the message to the investor.
Finding the right investors is only part of the job. The next step is to present the company through the decision-making framework of the target fund manager. Bloomberg Assistant ASKB <GO> can help to a) examine the factor profile of the fund to determine what matters most to the fund manager and b) research the most relevant evidence from the company’s documents. The aim is to improve manager engagement and the likelihood of investment, like drafting this request for an introductory meeting with a value-oriented international fund manager.
Key takeaway
The best investor target list is often not the traditional peer group. It is the broader set of companies that share similar characteristics and compete for capital in the same portfolio context. A stronger workflow is to use BQNT <GO> to find investors that buy stocks with your investment characteristics and ASKB <GO> to tailor the message that matters most to the investor. The outcome is a more relevant target list and a sharper conversation.
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Contact
Michael Letros, MSc, CFA
Bloomberg L.P.
Specialist Sales Solutions for Corporate Boards, C-Suites & Investor Relations
731 Lexington Ave, NY, NY 10022
Email: mletros2@bloomberg.net
Tel: +1-646-803-1545
