GuardCap Global Equity I GBP

Investment Process

Boyd and Warren believe markets are too short-term focussed and fail to attribute sufficient value to the longer-term earnings and cash flows of sustainably growing companies. In contrast their fund looks to emphasise long-term thinking, forecasting and longer holding periods. The bottom-up investment process looks at whether companies meet their 10 Point Confidence Criteria. These include a proven track record of growth through hard economic times, businesses which are mature and not in a “sexy growth” phase, sector tailwinds, high returns on invested capital, little or no debt and business diversification. They also calculate a fair value for the companies based on factors such as cash flow and Price to Earnings ratio. The team relies on their inherent, expert knowledge to find companies which could fit the criteria as well as using quantitative screens. They meet 100 companies a year and have a DORA (days out researching anything) scheme, where the team steps out of the office and takes time to look at and discuss emerging trends. Through this process a High Confidence Pool of up to 50 companies is created. Portfolio investment decisions are made by Boyd and Warren jointly, only selecting stocks from the Pool.