Avsnitt
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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/58cdae19
It was great catching up with Miles again, although the swim home was challenging.
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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.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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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.
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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.
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A few weeks ago, Tom Like of Singer Capital Markets joined me for a fascinating conversation with Nick Prest, the Founder and Chairman of defence technology provider Cohort.
Nick provides a wealth of anecdotes and knowledge of the defence industry, the geopolitics that drives it, and how it will likely change in the years ahead.
Coming soon on all good podcast apps.
Made possible by Progressive Equity Research
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I sit on the Investment Committee of the AIM-listed Onward Opportunities investment fund managed by Dowgate Wealth. I have a personal investment in Onward. Dowgate Group owns 9.26% of Transense Technologies PLC, of which Onward Opportunities owns 6.96%.
Last year, Onward's fund manager, Laurence Hulse, proposed an investment in Transense Technologies. My initial reaction could best be described as having a Victor Meldrew moment. Those with stock market memories may recall that Transense has a history of failing to meet its ambitious plans and targets and repeatedly returned to investors to back its innovative sensor technology.
In 2007, Transense had a market cap of £60m and forecast revenue of £300,000. Its exciting disruptive technology, Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW), was destined to achieve widespread adoption in the automotive industry. However, this didn't happen, and instead, Transense developed a well-earned reputation for serial stock market underachievement.
As Sir John Templeton said, the four most dangerous words in investing are, This Time It's Different. With these words in mind, on today's episode, I am joined by Laurence to hear how Executive Chairman Nigel Rogers and Managing Director Ryan Maughan have repositioned this failed AIM-listed, blue-sky growth stock of the early 2000s. It is a fascinating case study of how UK-listed microcap companies can become forgotten and ignored as recovery strategies are implemented and latent value is created. As Nigel mentions, the AIM market is far from perfect.
Today, Transense has a market cap of just £15m and is only now beginning to exploit SAW's true potential in areas like motorsport, EVs, aerospace and robotics. Following an innovative licensing deal with tyre giant Bridgestone that has effectively underwritten the business's foreseeable future, Transense today is led by a combination of Nigel's experienced financial nouse and Ryan's proven engineering credentials and entrepreneurial instincts.
In this episode, we learn how Transense Technologies has been right-sized and can face the future on a firm financial footing, giving it time to exploit opportunities in SAW and its tyre-measuring device business, Translogik.Please enjoy our conversation with Nigel and Ryan of Transense Technologies and why this time, it's different.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity Research.
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I sit on the Investment Committee of the AIM-listed Onward Opportunities investment fund managed by Dowgate Wealth. I have a personal investment in Onward. Dowgate Group owns 9.26% of Transense Technologies PLC, of which Onward Opportunities owns 6.96%.
Last year, Onward's fund manager, Laurence Hulse, proposed an investment in Transense Technologies. My initial reaction could best be described as having a Victor Meldrew moment. Those with stock market memories may recall that Transense has a history of failing to meet its ambitious plans and targets and repeatedly returned to investors to back its innovative sensor technology.
In 2007, Transense had a market cap of £60m and forecast revenue of £300,000. Its exciting disruptive technology, Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW), was destined to achieve widespread adoption in the automotive industry. However, this didn't happen, and instead, Transense developed a well-earned reputation for serial stock market underachievement.
As Sir John Templeton said, the four most dangerous words in investing are, This Time It's Different. With these words in mind, on today's episode, I am joined by Laurence to hear how Executive Chairman Nigel Rogers and Managing Director Ryan Maughan have repositioned this failed AIM-listed, blue-sky growth stock of the early 2000s. It is a fascinating case study of how UK-listed microcap companies can become forgotten and ignored as recovery strategies are implemented and latent value is created. As Nigel mentions, the AIM market is far from perfect.
Today, Transense has a market cap of just £15m and is only now beginning to exploit SAW's true potential in areas like motorsport, EVs, aerospace and robotics. Following an innovative licensing deal with tyre giant Bridgestone that has effectively underwritten the business's foreseeable future, Transense today is led by a combination of Nigel's experienced financial nouse and Ryan's proven engineering credentials and entrepreneurial instincts.
In this episode, we learn how Transense Technologies has been right-sized and can face the future on a firm financial footing, giving it time to exploit opportunities in SAW and its tyre-measuring device business, Translogik.Please enjoy our conversation with Nigel and Ryan of Transense Technologies and why this time, it's different.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity Research.
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Please subscribe to the Weekly Market Call on your normal podcast app.
For this week's Market Call Gareth and Jeremy are joined again by Scott Evans of the London Business School and the Deutsche Numis Equity Indices. Scott talks about market performance in Q1 2024. Where have markets come from, how have they performed in Q1, and where are they going? Bond yields have risen, inflation is sticky, and rates are higher for longer. Equities have had a good quarter, albeit the Magnificent Seven have not been quite so magnificent. The UK, by comparison, has been lacklustre. Gold has been the Q1 showstopper, and the main buyer seems to have been China's central bank, the POBC. Are they about to devalue the Red Cabbage or launch a military campaign?
In Q1, small caps underperformed large caps in Q1 in UK and US. The UK IPO market remains moribund. There have been more deaths than births in the UK market YTD. Is the UK stock market just a dumpster fire, or can it recover? Gareth is hopeful for a recovery.
Jeremy highlights the Middle East conflict, its limited impact on financial markets, and what to look for going forward. The big news is UK inflation, but he remains sceptical that the UK will cut rates ahead of the Fed.
Gareth discusses the week's company news, highlighting the Severfield results with a strong order book and a share buyback.
In next week's news, Jeremy highlights US PCE inflation data and the Bank of Japan's interest rate decision.
Made possible by Progressive Equity.
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In today’s episode, private investor Mark Atkinson and host of The Desert Island Investor rejoins me for a conversation with MPAC CEO Adam Holland.
Mark’s professional background was in the paper and packaging industry. He has been a shareholder in MPAC since 2013 when it was known as Molins.
Adam has enjoyed a varied engineering career, initially working in space technology, then with Rolls Royce and for JCB before joining MPAC initially as COO in 2021. He has a track record of solving engineering problems in global industries and leading teams that provide after-sales care for large multinational customers.
Adam gives us a detailed run-through of the rich legacy of the business he now runs and its evolution into an automation systems provider to the global packaging industry. He talks about the scale of MPAC's market, the challenges, and the opportunities to grow organically with existing and new customers, and via infill acquisition.
We learn from Adam why he prefers to reinvest in the business than to pay dividends today, how MPAC has significant potential in the giga factory market for the scale production of modern batteries, and that scaling the business and maintaining its culture of engineering excellence and customer service is vital in his vision to make MPAC into a business capable of being 10x its current sales level.
Please enjoy our conversation with Adam Holland.
Brought to you by Progressive. -
For today’s episode, I am joined by former fund manager and author Patrick Schotanus.
Patrick has extensive and varied experience analysing and investing in financial markets, culminating in 15 years of co-managing a large multi-asset fund.
Throughout his career, Patrick has questioned the relevance of mainstream economics in understanding the reality of financial markets and investment management, and over recent years he has focused all his time developing what he calls The Market Mind Hypothesis or the MMH.
Last year, Patrick published a book on his work titled The Market Mind Hypothesis: Understanding Markets and Minds through Cognitive Economics. It is a fascinating read.
In today’s conversation, Patrick discusses how mechanistic economics leads to damaging policy errors, how mechanistic investment strategies damage price discovery, and the amazing overlapping worlds of markets and minds. In short, Patrick believes markets are conscious and we would be better off if we established this as our way of framing how we think about economics and finance.
As Patrick says, if mainstream economics is the answer to our problems, then we are asking the wrong questions. And that the growing dominance of mechanistic and passive investment flows risk breaking markets' conscious means of price and value discovery.
Patrick’s analysis contains much practical guidance on thinking about real and financial markets, although he concedes that more research is required.
Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick thinker, Patrick Schotanus.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
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For today’s episode, I am joined by David Seaman of Alpha Cygni Asset Management for a conversation with two mavericks, an entrepreneur and an investor.
Angus Thirwell is the co-founder and CEO of Hotel Chocolat and was on Episode 4 in December 2021. Angus has just completed the sale of Hotel Chocolat to Mars for a value of £534m and has decided to roll most of his stake in the company into the Mars family structure as he sees an increased opportunity for the brand to grow under its new ownership.
Gary Channon is the founder and CIO of Phoenix Asset Management with a disciplined value style of investing detailed in previous episodes with James Wilson. Gary heads a team that manages UK-listed investment vehicles, Aurora Investment Trust and Castelnau.
We are treated to a master class in how Angus’s careful stewardship of his premium branded chocolate and the culture required to develop its full potential led him to his partnership with one of the world’s biggest and most successful family businesses.
And how Gary’s disciplined approach to research and valuation delivered a stunning return by acquiring a 15% stake in Hotel Chocolat after its post-pandemic setback.
We cover a lot of ground and discuss the health of the UK stock market, how to think about investing in consumer-facing businesses and how failing and learning from mistakes is an important part of developing a business whether in premium chocolate or asset management.
Gary also talks about taking the funeral business Dignity private and this latest addition to the portfolio, Churchill China.
Please enjoy our conversation with the mavericks, Angus Thirwell and Gary Channon.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity Research.
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In today’s episode, I am joined by energy blogger and author Doomberg for a conversation about the necessity of energy in our lives, how we take it for granted and the implications for our economies and our politics.
Doomberg is a pen name and alias assuming the form of a green chicken online. Originally on Twitter and now on Substack, Doomberg has become the most popular financial newsletter on the platform.
Doomberg explains why he has chosen to operate anonymously, helping him explore and explain complex and technical aspects of the energy debate with unusual clarity often overlooked or ignored by mainstream media and policymakers.
In this fascinating discussion, Doomberg explains why energy is fundamental to human life, why our dizzying technical expertise in extracting hydrocarbons is overlooked and even denigrated by people whose very lives depend on it, what the connection is between energy and human flourishing, how our thinking has been held hostage by Malthusian beliefs of pessimism leading to energy crises, economic decline and political unrest. We also talk about the recent COP 28 gathering and the renewed pursuit of nuclear energy.
I have learnt much from Doomberg about energy, economics and how our world works. In so doing, he demonstrates the changing nature of our media and how the internet can be used as a force for an informed debate on important topics. I find his approach refreshing and inspiring.
Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick Doomberg.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity Research.
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Jeremy McKeown and Gareth Evans are joined by Scott Evans of the London Business School and co-compiler of the Deutsche Numis Market Indices to discuss the performance of mid and small-cap last year, over the long term, and what might be driving equity market performance in 2024. In addition, they mention updates from Concurrent Technologies and Gamma Communications from last week.
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Jeremy McKeown and Gareth Evans discuss the main market trends from last year and the outlook for 2024. They discuss the October pivot on rate expectations, the rise of the Magnificent Seven AI wonder stocks, the outlook for Chinese and UK equities, and will a recovery in China be inflationary or deflationary. Will Trump win the US election, and what are the market implications? What about the UK? Can it be the best-performing market in 2024?
Please press SUBSCRIBE so as not to miss future episodes.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity. -
Tony Brewer of Likewise Group
Guest co-host James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management, manager of the Huginn Fund.
A few weeks ago, James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management joined me for a conversation with Tony Brewer, the founder and CEO of Likewise Group.
James had talked about Tony and his investment in AIM-listed Likewise on a previous episode, and I had been keen to get Tony on ever since.
Tony has spent his entire adult life in the floor coverings business developing Headlam from a small textile distributor to the UK’s leading flooring supplier before leaving in 2016.
Two years later, at a time when many of us might consider slowing down, Tony set up Likewise and set about building national distribution, as James points out, this is a business where scale matters.
James is an investor who leaves few stones unturned when he seeks companies to join his concentrated and eclectic portfolio. With his questioning and observations, James brings to life the investment case for what one might believe to be an overly competitive and low-value-added business.
This episode offers a fascinating insight into a man with a passion for carpet distribution and the views of a professional investor backing him to succeed.
Please enjoy our conversation with the maverick, Tony Brewer.
Made possible by Progressive Equity Research.
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Tony Brewer of Likewise Group
Guest co-host James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management, manager of the Huginn Fund.
Have you ever wondered why small independent carpet shops can survive competing against the major multiple retailers?
In a previous episode, James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management talked about Tony Brewer previously of Headlam and now the founder and CEO of AIM-listed Likewise.
Coming soon I am rejoined by James for a fascinating chat with Tony, about his life in carpets.
This episode gives a behind-the-scenes look at the complexities of the world of floor covering distribution, one man’s life’s passion for it and how a professional investor rates his chances of delivering long-term value from a business he founded in 2018.
Made possible by Progressive Equity Research.
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For this episode, I am joined by Gareth Evans, the founder and CEO of Progressive Equity Research for a conversation with Nils Gornall, the CEO of DP Poland, and a veteran Domino's Pizza operator.
Nils started as a pizza maker at the age of 15 and opened his first franchised store in Perth, Western Australia, just before his 22nd birthday.
It is fair to say Nils has pizza in his blood and gives us a masterclass in what makes a delivered pizza shop work and how to develop a winning culture.
From Australia to Croatia, via Canada Nils now operates AIM listed DP Poland from Warsaw. He is quite the epitome of the Aussie traveller.
In this episode, we learn how operating a pizza shop is like running a sports team, and how wowing customers with pizza delivered in 25 minutes or less involves better in-store metrics and not high-speed moped drivers. As Nils said, “The race is in the store, not on the road.”
As Stephen Helmsley of Franchise Brands, formerly CEO of Domino’s Pizza in the UK said in Episode 11, opening Domino’s successfully in new markets requires proven operators. Nils fits the bill perfectly.
Please enjoy our conversation with the maverick, Nils Gornall.
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We had a great time chatting with Nils Gornall the CEO of DP Poland, a couple of weeks ago. This episode, dropping soon is a masterclass on how to run a delivered pizza shop and what makes Domino's Pizza a global success story.
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Earlier this year, in Episode 15, I spoke to Laurence Hulse and Alyx Wood about investing in the UK equity market from the perspectives of two UK-focused professional investors with distinctive strategies.
On October 17th, I got Laurie and Alyx back together with Simon French, Chief Economist and Head of Research at City stockbroker Panmure Gordon, to ask the question, Why Invest in the UK?
It was a great conversation on a live topic of interest for investors and one I hope to return to in future episodes.
Simon frames the discussion with his expertise in interpreting macroeconomic data.
Alyx adds his perspective of an investor who spends much of his time talking to international investors about investing in the UK.
Laurie talks of what he sees as a generational opportunity to buy abnormally cheap assets at the bottom end of the UK’s “out of favour” stock market.
As always, this is for information purposes only. This is not investment advice.
- Visa fler
