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It’s by design that companies in Matthew McLennan’s portfolios aren’t exactly those that set investors’ hearts racing with excitement. “We’re happy to own businesses with what we consider a gradual positive drift to them,” he says. In this article, Matthew McLennan and Kimball Brooker describe how they assess “fade risk” in a number of industries, what makes them uneasy about the state of the world today, why their exposure to gold is higher than normal, and why they see mispriced value in Fanuc, Orkla, Schlumberger, Jardine Matheson and Weyerhaeuser.

What should investors do to prepare for 2019? Curb their enthusiasm, for one. With threats ranging from increasing debt to tightening fiscal policy, McLennan believes investors should be "realistic" rather than "too optimistic" about the coming year. That said, volatility can be an opportunity to buy solid stocks at reduced prices, he notes. McLennan looks for companies that have "resilience" across their business, from corporate culture to balance sheets. Read on for his picks.

Market participants are on edge as investors weigh global trade disputes, political insurgency in Europe, of course, and diverging global central bank policy.

The short term zigs and zags don't worry us as much. What worries us a little bit more is when we stand back and look at the market environment today, a lot of things have gone right.