CapitalatWork

CapitalatWork is an investment partnership, managing investments for private and institutional clients on a worldwide basis. We think that the strategic task of an investment manager, of every investment manager, should be to search for VALUE and to allocate CAPITAL to it.  How do WE make that WORK ? How do WE put CAPITAL to WORK ?  There are 4 key aspects which at all times summarize the “essence” of our investment methodology:

1. Searching for sustainable superior businesses
Our focus is on the ownership of publicly-traded stocks and bonds, which are small parts of businesses that happen to be for sale. Through a wide array of information sources and screening tools, our analysts and portfolio managers are continuously looking for sustainable superior businesses with a measurable worth that might represent good to great value, irrespective of prevailing or future market trends. At CapitalatWork, a sustainable superior business invariably relates to its superior free-cash-flow generating capacities over a long time-horizon.

2. Business valuations
These sustainably superior businesses are subsequently submitted to intensive research with the purpose of coming up with reasonable estimates of intrinsic value and a thorough understanding of the risk-characteristics of the businesses, one by one. If the intrinsic value of a business is above – ideally substantially above – its market price, it becomes a candidate for ownership.
These evaluation exercises are done on a permanent basis and determine whether a business should be owned or not.

3. Portfolio composition
Our client’s money is of course never allocated to a single investment but rather to a diversified portfolio of free-cash-flow generating businesses which we think are undervalued.  Diversification across companies and industries is of paramount importance to reduce unnecessary risk. Portfolio composition and risk management, whether for individual or institutional clients, is subjected to very clear guidelines.

4. Time at work
The idea of investing in companies at prices below intrinsic value to benefit from the inevitable reappraisal is very simple to understand but substantially more difficult to put into practice. The problem is the reappraisal often happens slowly, very slowly. While our client’s capital is slowly but surely at work, the above strategy requires us to go against gut reactions, prevailing beliefs in the marketplace, experts we respect and to ignore the inevitable and often severe market downturns. Such are the obstacles on the road to superior investment returns.