Process/Advantages

For us and our investors, what counts is focusing on the absolute, positive return – through sound, well-researched investment decisions.

We see stock-picking as one of the few opportunities to achieve above-average high returns even under challenging conditions: we look for undervalued companies and hence for opportunities that our fundamental approach allows us to spot sooner than the market in general. 

That’s why our approach is both consistent and comprehensible. This gives us and our investors security – because we know the relevant investments so well and so reliably that we don’t get nervous when the market goes through critical phases. 

The decisive factor, in our view, is the discrepancy between the current market value of the company and its long-term value – and not the asset category to which it belongs: we invest regardless of size, indices and sectors. 

Our investment approach is “bottom-up” fundamental analysis. 

This analysis focuses in principle on three aspects:

  1. The business model
  2. The management team
  3. The valuation

We identify the relevant value drivers and apply appropriate valuation models for the company. Our network gives us access to the management of the companies – giving us information at first hand. We hold more than 250 meetings with companies every year.

The quality of our analyses is achieved through care and stringency – and not least by our many years of experience in what we are doing. Our fund managers, Martin Wirth and Raik Hoffmann, can each look back on more than 20 years of practical experience in their field.

Our process for determining the right time to sell is also clearly defined, consistent and comprehensible: we constantly review and adjust our valuation.

We diversify, but remain focused – because our investment process gives us confidence in the target companies.

Our investment activities are concentrated on German equities, and first and foremost stocks of small and mid-cap companies. That gives you access to a broad investment universe stretching across all sectors with companies that are active in all regions of the world.

We consistently pursue the value investing approach to investment. We stick by this strategy because of its economic logic and the historic outperformances, even if that sometimes means swimming against the tide.

We are owner-managed, are not tied into any corporate group structure and act independently of benchmarks and indices. That means our funds enable you to invest regardless of the consensus view.

We remain faithful to our philosophy and our style. You are buying into an approach that has proven its worth over decades and is based on economic logic. With us, there will be no surprises caused by a sudden change in our investment style.

Our staff and directors are themselves invested in our funds. That means we have at least as much interest in their success as you!

We aim for an absolute annual return of at least 10 % from every single investment. This would be a return over a longer period that far exceeds those of many other investment strategies. Investments that were taken out on the basis of fundamental analysis also tend to present a lower risk: after all, you have a better idea of what you are actually investing in. That means less mental reliance on fluctuating market trends and price movements that often do not reflect reality.

We hold investments in companies for the long term so that our expected returns can be achieved. That enables us to profit from growth and income over the long term.

We firmly believe that value investing will pay off in the future as it has in the past. The only economic reason for taking out an investment is to achieve a sustainable return. That makes it essential to pay a price that is below the long-term value. The short-lived fads that are associated with overvalued shares often enough lead to long-term losses.

Our focus is placed entirely on the company, its business models and management and its valuation.  How these develop can be much more easily assessed than global variables such as exchange rates and interest rates, which change frequently, are difficult to predict and have an influence on company performance that is often over-estimated. With us, you are investing in what we consider to be the most easily calculable and hence most successful analytical approach over the long term.

We know the business models of our investments and their value drivers. That is the basis for being able to determine and apply the correct valuation approach.

We manage three retail funds and one special mandate. By keeping an overview, we can concentrate on what is relevant: analysing and valuing companies.

We deepen our knowledge of the companies through regular discussions with their management teams, allowing us to find out and broaden what we know not only about their current situation but in particular about long-term trends. That is the prerequisite for achieving good results.

We look for business models that offer the prospect of long-term success and in which we want to participate for as long as possible.

Our two fund managers Martin Wirth and Raik Hoffmann each have more than 20 years of experience in German equities - and therefore have the crucial knowledge of companies, markets and market situations and the best way to deal with them. Their network also gives them both access to the relevant sources of information.

Each of our funds is managed by a lead and a co-fund manager. The four eyes principle gives you an additional expert appraisal of your investment: every buy or sell decision that is taken by the two fund managers requires a consensus that enhances the quality of the decision because of the different perspectives that are adopted.

We publish the portfolio data and the market assessments of our fund managers every month. We communicate our decisions to you in a way that is both transparent and comprehensible.

We also offer direct access and contact to Martin Wirth and Raik Hoffmann to institutional investors – either at events or in one-to-one discussions.