The Gabelli Food of all Nations Nextshares (FOANC) with Gabelli PM Kevin Dreyer (2-5-2018) Invest with Us 1-800-GABELLI (800-422-3554) http://facebook.com/gabellitv GabelliTV Transcript: Hello, I’m Kevin Dreyer, portfolio manager of the Gabelli Food of All Nations Nextshares. Food of All Nations is an actively managed, non-transparent Exchange Traded Managed Fund, or ETMF. The fund invests primarily in both domestic and foreign companies in the Food and Beverage industry, a $5 trillion global sector in which we at Gabelli have built compounded, accumulated knowledge.
While traditionally companies in the sector have generated strong and growing cash flows and enjoyed pricing power, there have been questions about whether that will be diminished going forward, especially with Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods. It is our belief that companies with strong brands can not only survive, but thrive as e-commerce increases in importance. We also believe that sector consolidation – largely on hold in 2017 as companies awaited finalization of the new tax plan – is likely to accelerate in 2018 and beyond.
We already saw a flurry of deals in the last couple months, including Campbell agreeing to acquire Snyder’s-Lance, Hershey agreeing to acquire snack maker Amplify Brands, and Keurig Green Mountain announcing a merger with Dr Pepper Snapple Group. The multiples on these deals remain robust, showing the Private Market for food and beverage companies is alive and well. We own a portfolio of companies that we believe are well positioned to benefit from these trends, ranging from snack companies such as Mondelez, to spirits producers such as Diageo, to traditional packaged food players such as ConAgra and Kraft Heinz.
