About this blog
I have been involved in investing in some form or the other since I came out of high school. I have a Master’s degree in Business with a Major in Finance and have spent my working life as a M&A strategy consultant for private equity and a venture capitalist.
I am however far from a professional public markets investor. And to be honest, early in my career I looked down upon public market investing, as I was brainwashed into believing that there is no way to create alpha in these markets, like so many other people. Luckily, I was able to break out of that and see the light.
So what are my strengths as an investor?
Besides my training in business and finance, I have read numerous books on investing, listened to countless podcasts and talked with many different types of investors representing the full investment universe from venture capital, private credit, special situations in private markets, private equity, quantitative strategies and hedge funds. I believe the sum of all of this is one of my biggest strengths as an investor. I am style agnostic and view my investment philosophy as a combination of the best that each strategy has to offer.
So what is my strategy?
Generally, I like simplicity, predictability, huge gaps between price and intrinsic value and companies that are not undifferentiated in fiercely competitive markets. Thematically, I categorize (most of) my investments into the three following buckets:
Predictable cash generation at attractive FCF yields
Special situations with clear asymmetry
Specialist serial acquirers
I also like investing in these themes with high concentration. With few exceptions, if I am not comfortable putting 5-15% of my portfolio in the name, I’d rather not do it. Another important ingredient is patience and ability to handle volatility. Earlier in my investing career, I thought that objective value was enough. If a company was trading at $1 and I could calculate that it was worth $2, it should be a no-brainer. I have since learned that you also need a clear path for that value difference to be realized.
Those are some quick thoughts. Let’s see if I am able to deliver alpha. That’s at least my goal and I believe I have what it takes.
