In the Company of Mavericks

In today’s episode, I am joined by Tim Price of Price Value Partners, a private wealth manager in London since the late 1990s. Originally an English literature graduate, Tim started work as a bond salesman for a Japanese bank.However, he switched to private client wealth management, where he was to develop his well-reasoned but highly differentiated approach to managing money.  Tim has developed this approach based on extensive reading in economics, history, finance, and investing. In this episode, he shares the main influences, which range from the Swiss Italian Renaissance mathematician Daniel Bernoulli to the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises and the Roman Emperor Diocletian.His strategy has three main themes focusing on ….  value equities, systematic trend following and real assets. He has no time for the traditional 60/40 equity/bond portfolio. Due to the unsustainable level of sovereign debt and the sluggish outlook for economic growth, he describes bond investors as 'dancing on the edge of a live volcano'. I have been reading Tim’s newsletters for a while and highly recommend subscribing. Made possible by Progressive Equity Research. 

In this episode, I am joined by someone who is probably the best-performing smaller companies fund manager you have never heard of. I first met Geoff Oldfield in the 1990s when he was working as the co-manager of the European Select Fund at Barings Asset Management. He and his partner Gerhard Shoeningh were making a name for themselves in the sector and, in 1998, left to set up Ennismore Fund Management with some very firm ideas about the type of investment firm they wanted to run.The main pillars were performance over asset gathering (no fund marketing), investment decisions taken by PMs, not a committee, clawback of performance fees to reward individual contributions, and a firm owned internally by its portfolio managers. Ennismore’s first fund was launched in January 1999. It has been closed to new investors for most of its life, and a significant proportion of the fund is owned by its portfolio managers, including Geoff.  I was fortunate enough to invest in the Ennismore European Smaller Companies fund on its launch. Over the subsequent nearly 25 years, it has delivered a 17-fold return with a focused absolute return strategy in European-listed smaller companies. This is an average annual return of 12%. Remarkably over the period, the fund only had three down years: 2008, 2009, and 2020, which together represented an aggregate negative 12% return. This is a track record fully demonstrating the advantages of an absolute return approach.  Geoff is not a public figure and I have spoken to him about doing this podcast since he returned to frontline fund management. After a 10-year break, Geoff came back into portfolio management in an effort to help turn around the Ennismore Global Fund. This 2016 fund had scored “an own goal” (as Geoff puts it) while running short positions in the meme stock-obsessed NASDAQ market of 2020.  Geoff is the epitome of the humble investor being respectful of Mr Market and also knowing when to take advantage of his emotionally charged moments of mis-valuation. He talks about mistakes he made in the GFC and how providing liquidity to investors is a good discipline despite investing in an illiquid asset class. He also describes how he defines quality companies and how they should be valued, but he also talks about how he always looks for a margin of safety. Critically he discusses what makes smaller companies such a rich seam of opportunity for value investors a strategy he has successfully pursued in the changing market circumstances for more than a quarter of a century.I must remind you that nothing you hear today is investment advice. The views expressed are personal to the contributors and do not represent the views of Progressive Equity or Ennismore Fund Management. I hope you find it enjoyable and educational. As always when I chat with Geoff, I learned a lot.  Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick investor, Geoff Oldfield.  Brought to you by Progressive Equity. 

In this episode, I am joined by someone who is probably the best-performing smaller companies fund manager you have never heard of. I first met Geoff Oldfield in the 1990s when he was working as the co-manager of the European Select Fund at Barings Asset Management. He and his partner Gerhard Shoeningh were making a name for themselves in the sector and, in 1998, left to set up Ennismore Fund Management with some very firm ideas about the type of investment firm they wanted to run.The main pillars were performance over asset gathering (no fund marketing), investment decisions taken by PMs, not a committee, clawback of performance fees to reward individual contributions, and a firm owned internally by its portfolio managers. Ennismore’s first fund was launched in January 1999. It has been closed to new investors for most of its life, and a significant proportion of the fund is owned by its portfolio managers, including Geoff.  I was fortunate enough to invest in the Ennismore European Smaller Companies fund on its launch. Over the subsequent nearly 25 years, it has delivered a 17-fold return with a focused absolute return strategy in European-listed smaller companies. This is an average annual return of 12%. Remarkably over the period, the fund only had three down years: 2008, 2009, and 2020, which together represented an aggregate negative 12% return. This is a track record fully demonstrating the advantages of an absolute return approach.  Geoff is not a public figure and I have spoken to him about doing this podcast since he returned to frontline fund management. After a 10-year break, Geoff came back into portfolio management in an effort to help turn around the Ennismore Global Fund. This 2016 fund had scored “an own goal” (as Geoff puts it) while running short positions in the meme stock-obsessed NASDAQ market of 2020.  Geoff is the epitome of the humble investor being respectful of Mr Market and also knowing when to take advantage of his emotionally charged moments of mis-valuation. He talks about mistakes he made in the GFC and how providing liquidity to investors is a good discipline despite investing in an illiquid asset class. He also describes how he defines quality companies and how they should be valued, but he also talks about how he always looks for a margin of safety. Critically he discusses what makes smaller companies such a rich seam of opportunity for value investors a strategy he has successfully pursued in the changing market circumstances for more than a quarter of a century.I must remind you that nothing you hear today is investment advice. The views expressed are personal to the contributors and do not represent the views of Progressive Equity or Ennismore Fund Management. I hope you find it enjoyable and educational. As always when I chat with Geoff, I learned a lot.  Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick investor, Geoff Oldfield. Brought to you by Progressive Equity 

For this episode, I am joined by Jim Leaviss, one of the UK’s leading bond fund managers and the voice behind the podcast Uncle Jim’s World of Bonds.  I subscribe to a lot of podcasts, but there aren’t many that I always listen to. However, Uncle Jim’s World of Bonds is always a must-listen to. It's both entertaining and informative. It is typically just 10 minutes long and contains some real nuggets covering macroeconomics, financial markets, politics, and the long-term drivers impacting the world all investors inhabit.   We recorded this chat on July 1st, and quite a lot has happened since then. Obviously, we have had elections in the UK and France and the advancement of England and France to the semifinals of Euro 24.    In this episode, Jim discusses why he thinks bonds are so interesting and important and what we, as investors, can learn from them. He also discusses Trussonomics, the implications of French political instability, the potential impact of an unwinding of Japan’s carry trade, what to know about credit spreads, and how they might inform equity markets.   Jim has been a fund manager at M&G for 27 years, most recently as CIO for fixed income. Since we recorded this episode, Jim has announced his departure later this year to study art history. I very much hope he can also find the time to keep up his podcasting, maybe interspersing yield curve analysis with a view on the modern relevance of German expressionism from the inter-war period.    I must remind you that none of what you hear is investment advice, it is all just the personal views of the people talking and does not represent the views of any organisation mentioned in this podcast.  Please enjoy my conversation with Uncle Jim about his world of bonds. Made possible by Progressive Equity. 

In this episode, Julian Collett of Blackdown Partners joins me for a conversation with Simon Phillips, the founder and CEO of CT Automotive, a £50m market cap, AIM-listed company. Simon’s journey is a powerful example of how adverse circumstances, can be a fertile ground for learning and growth. His story underscores the crucial role of resilience in business success. The development of a business supplying tooling and components to the global automotive industry is a testament to Simon’s well-honed entrepreneurial skills and can-do attitude, forged in the face of adversity. Growing up in one of London’s more socially deprived areas, Simon thrived in maths, physics, and engineering but was thwarted by his dyslexia in pursuing conventional employment. Through successful side hustles developed during his university years, Simon bought into a plastics moulding and tool-making business, becoming MD of his own company at the age of 25. Simon's vision for CT Automotive was clear from the start. He saw the huge potential in manufacturing in China to Western standards. This foresight led him to spend 16 years living in China, transforming CT from its tool-making roots into a global component supply business that serves most of the world’s largest automotive OEMs. Simon candidly discusses the challenges he faced in his chosen career path and how he overcame them. He shares why he chose to IPO the business on AIM in 2021 and reflects on the following couple of years as the most challenging period he has ever experienced.Looking forward, Simon talks about the need to stay ahead via the adoption of AI and robotics, a trend that is happening so quickly that the shape of the automotive industry he supplies will be unknowable over the next few years. However, as he says, CT went to China for its low costs but is staying because of its world-class leadership in modern manufacturing technology.    This is a fascinating story of resilience, innovation and raw entrepreneurialism. Please enjoy our conversation with the maverick, Simon Philips.  Made possible by Progressive Equity. 

This is a fascinating story of resilience, innovation, and raw entrepreneurialism. Simon’s journey is a powerful example of how adverse circumstances can be fertile ground for learning and growth. Living in China for 16 years, transforming CT from its tool-making roots into a global component supply business, Simon candidly discusses the challenges he faced and how he overcame them. Simon talks about the need to stay ahead by adopting AI and robotics. He says that CT went to China for its low costs but is staying because of its world-class leadership in modern manufacturing technology.I really enjoyed this one. I hope you do too. Please subscribe on your podcast app or follow me on Substack. Made possible by Progressive Equity. 

My friend Mark Atkinson invited me onto the Desert Island Investor podcast, where we chatted with Miles Adcock, the CEO of Concurrent Technologies. Mark introduced me to Miles in early 2023 where we spoke about the challenges of revitalising the defence electronics supplier amid component shortages.  https://share.transistor.fm/s/58cdae19It was great catching up with Miles again, although the swim home was challenging.  

Back in March this year, David Seaman of Alpha Cygni Asset Management joined me for a conversation with Adam Rackley, the founder and fund manager at Cape Wrath Capital.Adam epitomises the philosophy of doing things differently when it comes to investing in UK equities. He has pursued his unique approach since founding Cape Wrath in 2016 using what he describes as a behavioural value strategy. He looks to identify market capitulation events and narrative shifts to cycle capital into shares when they are driven by emotion more than rationality. He then looks to exit positions when narrative shifts lead to equity revaluations to his appraised fair value.Adam runs his fund according to what he calls the Rules of Wrath, not the established conventional rules of thumb that seek quality companies and long-term holding periods that try to avoid volatility. No, for Adam it is a marketing strategy designed to discourage investors who can’t stomach the journey into the deep value that exists in the UK market. He wants a band of loyal investors who understand and back his strategy, a strategy he is fully committed to and invested in.    While he has all the credentials of a conventional equity fund manager, Adam is anything but. Previously an army officer, Adam has degrees in PPE and law and the CFA qualification. He has also rowed the Atlantic, written a book, swam the channel, cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and lived and worked in India for several years. He is now based in North Wales. According to Morningstar, only one of 72 smaller company funds outperformed the UK small-cap index last year. That fund was Cape Wrath. A one-year wonder? Well, not exactly. As of the end of May this year, Cape Wrath has significantly outperformed its benchmarks over one month, six months, one year, and five years by sticking to and evolving its rigorous investment strategy and process.  This is a fascinating conversation in which Adam delves into some examples of how his strategy has played out and how he hopes to develop his process further. He then looks forward to closing the fund to new investors, switching off his LinkedIn account, and retiring to his library to do what he enjoys best: picking undervalued shares. Please enjoy our conversation with the maverick investor, Adam Rackley. Made possible by Progressive Equity. 

Back in March this year, David Seaman of Alpha Cygni Asset Management joined me for a conversation with Adam Rackley, the founder and fund manager at Cape Wrath Capital.Adam epitomises the philosophy of doing things differently when it comes to investing in UK equities. He has pursued his unique approach since founding Cape Wrath in 2016 using what he describes as a behavioural value strategy. He looks to identify market capitulation events and narrative shifts to cycle capital into shares when they are driven by emotion more than rationality. He then looks to exit positions when narrative shifts lead to equity revaluations to his appraised fair value.Adam runs his fund according to what he calls the Rules of Wrath, not the established conventional rules of thumb that seek quality companies and long-term holding periods that try to avoid volatility. No, for Adam it is a marketing strategy designed to discourage investors who can’t stomach the journey into the deep value that exists in the UK market. He wants a band of loyal investors who understand and back his strategy, a strategy he is fully committed to and invested in.    While he has all the credentials of a conventional equity fund manager, Adam is anything but. Previously an army officer, Adam has degrees in PPE and law and the CFA qualification. He has also rowed the Atlantic, written a book, swam the channel, cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and lived and worked in India for several years. He is now based in North Wales. According to Morningstar, only one of 72 smaller company funds outperformed the UK small-cap index last year. That fund was Cape Wrath. A one-year wonder? Well, not exactly. As of the end of May this year, Cape Wrath has significantly outperformed its benchmarks over one month, six months, one year, and five years by sticking to and evolving its rigorous investment strategy and process.  This is a fascinating conversation in which Adam delves into some examples of how his strategy has played out and how he hopes to develop his process further. He then looks forward to closing the fund to new investors, switching off his LinkedIn account, and retiring to his library to do what he enjoys best: picking undervalued shares. Please enjoy our conversation with the maverick investor, Adam Rackley.  Made possible by Progressive Equity. 

For this episode, I am joined by Tom Like, an analyst at Singer Capital Markets, for a conversation with Nick Prest, the Founder and Chairman of the defence services and technology company Cohort PLC. Prior to founding Cohort, Nick worked in the Ministry of Defence before joining United Scientific Holdings, later renamed Alvis. A few years later Nick became CEO. Alvis was eventually acquired by BAe, and Nick, along with several former Alvis colleagues, set up Cohort in 2006. With a market value of £26m, Cohort aims to provide technical services to the defence industry in the UK and abroad. Today, 18 years later, Cohort is the parent company of six operating businesses, providing a wide range of services and products for British and international customers in defence, security, and related markets. Its market capitalisation is £335m. In a fascinating discussion, Nick talks about the changing nature of the defence industry over his long career, why he decided to establish Cohort, how he has gone about making acquisitions and the decentralised operating model for the Group, how the listed defence industry has changed, and how our rapidly changing geopolitics is likely to change the operating environment for Cohort in the coming years. With defence spending rising up the priority list for all Western countries, the outlook for Cohort and the rest of the defence industry hasn’t looked this good for decades. As he says the expansion of the Chinese navy over the last 20 years is a source of considerable concern to other countries in the region, such as Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, all of which are Cohort customers. Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has radically changed perceptions about the need to fund defence budgets further in Europe.    I began by asking Nick about his background and how and why he came to establish Cohort in 2006.Made possible by Progressive Equity Research.