Investment Strategy

The Fund’s value proposition is defined mostly as the ability to expand the investment horizon, apply diligent corporate research and preserve capital at extreme market conditions if suitable opportunities do not exist, while seeking absolute returns instead of the relative equity market returns. Portfolio diversification to control specific risks and hedging techniques can be used at discretion to cover markets’ directional risk.

The Fund employs a Value, as well as an attractive GARP (Growth-at reasonable price) investment approach. Fundamental bottom-up parameters guide investment selection. Analysis generally focuses on the following broad areas within a forward-looking perspective:

• Company business and financial position. Understandable business model, competitive position in its sector, ability or potential to generate attractive and reliable returns on capital across the business cycle, positive expected future cash flows;
• Management credibility. Positive changes in corporate governance and management emphasis on Shareholder value creation;
• Accounting transparency and availability of financial information to investors;
• Value enhancing corporate change, as management reshuffling, capital structure change, cost cutting;
• Every effort will be made to acquire shares at or below their intrinsic net worth as determined by past and future expected profitability and rates of return on assets.

The Fund usually exhibits a long investment bias and aims to invest its assets on a worldwide basis with a greater focus on listed equity securities of the European Union members but also, on the stock exchanges of Norway, Switzerland, as well as on those of the East European and Balkan countries (e.g. Russia, Turkey, Serbia, Ukraine) in order to spread risks and to provide its investors with the benefit of the results of the management of its assets.

While fundamental corporate valuation is a reliable factor of future returns and safeguards the return of capital, it works best in longer time frames and requires investor patience.