We really try to think like business owners. This means we try to judge the performance of a company or an investment by the underlying business progress rather than the shorter-term movement in market prices”
Our objective is to preserve and grow the wealth of our clients over multiple generations. Through our investments, we aspire to preserve both the wealth of future generations and the environment and society they will inherit.
We set out to preserve our clients' wealth by focusing on sustainable long-term growth. When investing our clients' money, alongside our own, we are guided by the principles below.
A long-term investment horizon allows us to cut through short-term noise and focus on what really matters. We can act and think like business owners and build active partnerships with the companies and funds that we invest in. We believe this creates real value for our clients.
Even modest levels of inflation erode the real value of capital over time. Our investment objective is to outpace inflation and generate sustained returns. We do this by finding high quality companies with pricing power and high barriers to entry.
Sustainability factors cannot be separated from economic factors as they are inherently part of the long-term risks and opportunities of any company. Sustainability analysis is explicitly integrated into our investment process. As long-term investors, we want to own high-quality businesses that have resilient business models and sustainable business practices.
We seek assets that provide genuine protection in periods of market stress. This allows us to be on the front foot and smooths the journey for our clients. Our in-depth research on companies means that we invest with conviction while minimising the risk of permanent capital loss. Taken together, we build sensibly diversified portfolios, combining investments in high-quality companies with true diversifiers.
We often speak about our bottom-up investment approach. However, in this Quarterly Letter, we (ironically) take a look at this approach from a top-down perspective, outlining our investment objective, as well as the people and processes that work to achieve this.
Investing for the long term
We've always invested in long-term, sustainable business. To discover how environmental, social and governance issues are embedded in our approach to wealth management, please review our Sustainability and Stewardship Report for 2022.
Preserving and growing your wealth means investing sustainably over time. We are committed to investing responsibly on behalf of our clients and do so by following our Sustainability and Stewardship Policy.
Publications
Two months since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), we provide an update on the banking system. We continue to think the banking system looks overall healthier than in the period leading up to the Global Financial Crisis.
Market Commentary
Die Märkte haben sich zwar schnell wieder erholt, aber es ist noch zu früh, um daraus zu schließen, dass wir aus dem Banken- und Wirtschaftsdschungel heraus sind. In dieser Ausgabe von Market Perspective befassen wir uns mit den Konjunkturrisiken und aktualisieren unseren Inflationsmonitor, bevor wir die Wirtschaftsleistung der verschiedenen Länder bewerten.
Publications
The US debt ceiling is currently at $31.4tn and the total stock of outstanding government debt reached this level back in January. Since then, unable to issue any new debt, the Treasury has been depleting its cash balance. Despite this, we discuss why we believe the US will not default.
