Core focus = estimating private market value for companies with simple futures and investing when their stock severely dislocates from that estimate
Focus on public businesses trading at significant discounts to private market value (i.e., if business were sold) as estimated ~5 years out
While multi-year holding periods are assumed for most investments made, we remain flexible and might hold for a much shorter period; especially true with many of our short-term event-driven situations which may resolve in a matter of months, weeks, or even days
Focused on reducing risk of long-term permanent losses, not short-term quotational losses
Short-term price movements are an advantage; the greater the undervaluation relative to our estimates, the higher the expected return
Maintain and constantly update private market valuation appraisals on a few hundred public companies but ultimately market fluctuations dictate when, if ever, each company’s stock reaches a significantly undervalued level relative to our estimates
Highly selective and therefore concentrated in best ideas
Portfolio is heavily concentrated in best ideas available - much less diversified than the average investment firm
Typically fewer than 15-20 investments and often less than 10; willing to concentrate in less than 5 investments under the right conditions
Unconstrained – invest wherever highest estimated return exists
No restrictions by company size, industry, geography, etc.
Many investments are outside the U.S. and/or in smaller, less-followed, and often illiquidly-traded companies
No restriction approach allows for research across thousands of companies, increasing likelihood of finding a few new/better investments each year
Since highly undervalued opportunities often exist in the most ignored/misunderstood companies, many of our investments appear unconventional