FSSA Asia Focus B GBP

Investment Process

The investment process centres around bottom-up stock selection. The managers identify companies with strong competitive advantages, balance sheets and dominant franchises that have the ability to deliver sustainable and predictable returns over the long term. They also look for founders and management teams that act with integrity and risk awareness. There is a big focus on valuation, with the managers not wanting to diminish the upside and increase the downside risk by overpaying for a company. They use a range of financial and non-financial metrics to estimate a fair market valuation (FMV) for the companies they want to own, and buy at price levels which provide a sufficient ‘margin of safety’ over the medium-to-long term. Company visits are considered paramount, and the team undertakes approximately 1600 one-to-one company meetings each year. The team's research analysts have significant input on stock ideas and recommendations for the portfolio. Team discussions around assumptions, potential risks and rewards, valuations and macro-overlays take place formally and informally. The managers are responsible for forming and managing the portfolio, deciding on price, quantity, timing of purchases and sales. The portfolio typically has between 40 and 100 holdings.